UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy has proposed changing the name of Clarence E. Cook Little Hall. The action is based on a university task force’s recommendations that examined Cook’s record as a scientist and public figure, particularly his senior leadership role in the 20th Century eugenics movement. Aspects of eugenics included forced sterilization of individuals labeled “unfit to reproduce” because of certain developmental, physiological, or social characteristics. Nazi Germany embraced eugenics and used it as a justification for the Holocaust. Clarence Little served as UMaine’s president from 1922-1925.
Read Ferrini-Mundy’s statement and the task force’s report here.