The UIC John Marshall Law School will change its name to the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law after receiving approval from the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, according to UIC Today.
The name change will take effect July 1.
A task force report noted, “that despite Chief Justice Marshall’s legacy as one of the nation’s most significant U.S. Supreme Court justices, the newly discovered research regarding his role as a slave trader, slave owner of hundreds of slaves, pro-slavery jurisprudence and racist views render him a highly inappropriate namesake for the Law School.”
Following the task force’s February report and its membership recommendation to rename the school (approved six to one), law school faculty voted in favor of a new official name in March. The University of Illinois System recently received approval from the Legacy Law School Corporation and the Foundation Legacy Corporation.
The law school—formerly an independent academic entity that was established in 1899—merged with UIC in 2019 to create UIC John Marshall Law School.