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911������’s Mission Statement affirms our commitment “to reflect upon and work to build fair, open and welcoming institutional structures, values, and culture.” Excavating and addressing all aspects of the College’s history – its distant past, its recent past, and its present – represents one important way to fulfill this crucial part of our mission.

The bold vision that led to 911������’s founding, particularly as articulated by President M. Carey Thomas, embodied both emancipatory potential and deep contradictions characteristic of the late 19th-century Progressive movement—including Thomas’ embrace of eugenics and white supremacy.  In spring 2017, Former President Kim Cassidy announced the formation of a History Working Group convened by Dean of the Undergraduate College Jennifer Walters to examine histories of exclusion and resistance, in the College’s past. The group was charged with making a recommendation about how the College should recognize founding Dean and second President M. Carey Thomas, including in the names of iconic campus spaces, and the impact of this recognition on the campus and in particular on members of the community who would have been excluded under Thomas’ racist policies.  After considering the Working Group’s report, the Board of Trustees announced in July 2018 that the College’s original library would be known as Old Library rather than M. Carey Thomas Library. 

In 2018-2019, Former President Kim Cassidy charged two groups of students, faculty, and staff (Telling Histories Working Group and the History Infrastructure Working Group) to further develop recommendations for structures, strategies, and resources to enable further exploration and telling of the College’s histories. These recommendations have led to establishing an ongoing History Advisory Committee; additional support for student research through Praxis coursework and internships; and proposals to develop exhibits and other public markers to share important stories of and from the College’s past (see below).

In response to the recommendations of the Telling Histories Working Group, 911������ has launched two institutional projects in 2020-2021 to create a more inclusive account of the College’s history. These projects are ongoing. 

• With support from the Special Collections department of Library & Information Technology Services and the President’s Office, the College is mounting the pilot of a multi-part exhibit, “Who Built Bryn M