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Following consultation with Board of Trustees leadership, University of Montevallo President Dr. John W. Stewart III has appointed 11 Montevallo leaders to a trustee-led exploratory, working group to review the names of buildings on the UM campus.

Upon completion of their work, the group may recommend possible changes or offer suggestions to the University’s full Board of Trustees. The working group’s goal is to report at the Aug. 7 Board of Trustees meeting.

Dr. Stewart formed the working group in response to recent discourse on social media expressing concerns over the names of some buildings around the country and on the UM campus.

Dr. Stewart appointed the following individuals to the working group:

–Brian Hamilton (chair of working group); UM Board of Trustees; CEO of Trillion Communications Corporation; Bachelor of Science, Morehouse College; Bachelor of Science, Georgia Institute of Technology; Juris Doctorate, Birmingham School of Law

-Tim Lupinacci; UM Board of Trustees; chairman and CEO of Baker Donelson; Bachelor of Arts, UM (’88); Juris Doctorate, Vanderbilt Law School

-LeRoy Nix; UM Board of Trustees; director of federal government affairs, Southern Company; Bachelor of Science, UM (’03); Juris Doctorate, University of Alabama School of Law

-Thomas Dillard; UM Student Government Association president; Bachelor of Science, UM (’22)

-Shanya Webb; UM Black Student Union president; Bachelor of Arts, UM (’21)

-Cynthia Todd; UM National Alumni Association president; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama operations manager; Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, UM (’88); Master of Arts, Birmingham-Southern College

-Carey Heatherly, UM Archivist and Special Collections librarian and professor of information literacy; Bachelor of Arts, Samford University; Master of Arts, The University of Alabama

-Dr. Gregory Samuels; 2020-2022 UM chief diversity officer; UM assistant professor of elementary and secondary education; faculty, UM African American Studies; faculty, UM Peace and Justice Studies; Bachelor of Science, Clarion University of Pennsylvania; Master of Education, University of South Florida; Ph.D., USF

-Emily Gill; 2020-2021 UM Faculty Senate president; UM associate professor of theatre; Bachelor of Arts, Rollins College; Master of Fine Arts, The University of Georgia

-Karen Kelly, UM Foundation Board vice chair; retired vice president of corporate benefits from Protective Life Corporation; Bachelor of Science, UM ’80

-Jason Perry; director of UM’s M.A.D.E. (Minorities Achieving Dreams of Excellence) program; Bachelor of Science, UM ’18; Master of Education, UM ’20

-Administrative liaison: Dr. Kristalyn Lee; UM vice president for administration and liaison to the Board of Trustees; Bachelor of Science; Auburn University; Juris Doctorate, University of Alabama School of Law; Ed.D., University of Alabama; klee8@montevallo.edu