Philadelphia's Bryn Mawr College will place a year-long "moratorium" on the use of the name of a founder and past president who was a known anti-Semite and racist, The Times of Israel reported on Tuesday.
The name of the library and great hall at the women's liberal arts college are named for M. Carey Thomas, who was president of the private institution from 1894 to 1922.
Thomas was known for advancing women's rights, but historical accounts show that she actively discriminated against Jewish and black applicants to Bryn Mawr, according to Philadelphia Magazine.
College president Kim Cassidy said the college will place a moratorium on the buildings' names while a committee of faculty, students, staff, alumni and trustees decides on the future of its connection to Thomas.
The move came following the violent demonstration of white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which a counter-protester was killed, which has sparked many institutions to distance themselves from controversial figures.
Cassidy wrote that she understood that "this is an especially raw moment for members of many different marginalized groups whose rights and dignities are being attacked so openly and so viciously."
According to the Forward College Guide, Bryn Mawr currently has 1,346 undergraduate students, about 15 percent of whom are Jewish, according to The Times of Israel.
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