DeNorval Unthank Jr.
The
University of Oregon’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously last Friday to rename
the former Dunn Hall to Unthank Hall, effective immediately, in honor of DeNorval Unthank Jr. FAIA. De Unthank
was the first African-American to graduate with a degree in architecture from
the university’s School of Architecture & Allied Arts (now the College of Design). He would go on to enjoy a long and productive career in Eugene
before his death in November of 2000.
Unthank
Hall is a four-story wing of the Hamilton housing complex on the University of Oregon campus. Its
previous namesake, Frederick Dunn, while a professor of Latin and the head of the Department of Classics
at UO, was also “Exalted Cyclops” of the Eugene branch of the Ku Klux Klan during
the 1920s. In recent years, Dunn’s association with and actions on behalf of
the KKK became a point of controversy and, in the minds of many, a shameful
embarrassment and insult to students and faculty of color.
Back in
May of this year, UO president Michael
Schill forwarded his recommendation in favor of honoring De. Here is his
memorandum to the board:
At the start of this
academic year, you made the decision to remove Frederick Dunn’s name from a
wing of the Hamilton Residence Hall and instructed me to come forward with a
recommendation for a permanent name at the end of the year. That time is now
upon us.
As you know, I wanted this
to be an inclusive process. After developing a list of criteria in coordination
with the Black Student Task Force, we then solicited nominations from students,
faculty, staff, alumni, and community members. Nineteen names were provided to
a committee which I charged with evaluating those suggestions and ultimately
recommending names for my consideration.
I would like to reiterate
my gratitude to the committee members for their thoughtful work, especially
given the timeframe within which they had to act. It was clear that each member
reflected deeply on the criteria and this honor.
The group submitted a list
of four people after whom it recommended we permanently rename Cedar Hall. Each
of these four—and indeed the others suggested—is inspiring in their own right.
As the committee members said in their memo to me, a recommendation of four
particular individuals was in no way a vote against the others. And in that same vein, my final
recommendation here is in no way a vote against
the others.
Based on historical
records and information gathered on these four inspiring individuals, a meeting
with the committee about the finalists, and subsequent conversations with
various individuals and groups, I have decided to formally recommend that we
permanently name this wing Unthank Hall, after DeNorval Unthank, Jr.
Mr. Unthank was a
University of Oregon alumnus, graduating in 1951 with a degree in Architecture
– the first black graduate from School of Architecture and Allied Arts (AAA).
He went on to have a successful career here in the Eugene-Springfield area,
designing many public and private buildings. His works include our own McKenzie
Hall, meaning that students can see and experience a tangible example of
Unthank’s success and lasting legacy. This physical space is a reminder to us
all that this extraordinary man overcame racial discrimination as a child in
Portland as well as discrimination and overt acts of hatred at the University
of Oregon.
In addition to his
professional accomplishments, Mr. Unthank was an unwavering advocate for minority
populations, especially the black community in Oregon and in Portland,
specifically. He worked with community organizations in Portland on projects
such as Albina Housing, the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, the Mt. Olive
Baptist Church, and several developments focused on low-income housing and
assisted living.
In addition to being an
alumnus, Unthank remained dedicated to the University of Oregon. He served as a
visiting lecturer in AAA and became an associate professor in the school for
eight years in the 1970s. His impact on students thus extended far beyond
creating a physical place for them to learn and engage. To him, design,
education, and opportunity were intertwined.
In 2004, AAA established a
memorial scholarship fund in his honor thanks to contributions from family,
friends, clients, and colleagues. While this scholarship has helped
architecture students realize their potential and is a fitting tribute to
Unthank, I believe now is the time we recognize his contributions to the UO,
the Eugene-Springfield region, and to the state of Oregon through a more overt
and tangible honor.
I think ahead to the freshmen who will
eagerly unpack belongings into Unthank Hall and who will be inspired by this
tremendous man to make their own lasting impact on our university, state, and
nation.
Thank you for your consideration of this
recommendation.
De’s accomplishments,
mentioned in part by President Schill, are recalled in greater detail by the Daily Journal of Commerce eulogy published at the time of his passing. His
projects here in Eugene, among them the Lane County Courthouse, McKenzie Hall
on the University of Oregon campus, Kennedy Middle School, and Thurston High
School, remain for us to visit and experience.
I wish I
got to know De better before he died. He always struck me as particularly gracious
and dignified, but I can’t claim to truly have known him as a friend or
colleague. He was a member of a generation architects I regarded as pioneers,
one whose impact profoundly shaped the built environment of Eugene. Their legacy
continues to be felt by architects like me who follow in their footsteps.
Eugene’s history
of race politics and reprehensible intolerance belie its progressive
reputation. De Unthank’s experience during his studies at the University of
Oregon, and later as a young architect reflected the bigoted racism that existed
immediately beneath the community’s thin veneer of gentility. The spring 2011 issue of Oregon Quarterly (the magazine of the University of Oregon)
provides a chilling chronicle by De’s first wife, Deb Mohr, of the bigotry she and De faced as a young interracial
couple. It’s unnerving to realize that it wasn’t so long ago that blatant
racism went unchallenged. The courage De and Deb displayed in the face of blinding
hate and indifference to it is inspiring. We’re all richer because De Unthank
stayed in Eugene rather than choosing to leave.
I like to think De would have endorsed the Board of Trustees' decision to remove Fredrick Dunn's name from the building that now honors him. If he were alive today, I'm pretty sure De would agree that veneration for an avowed racist has no place at a public institution of higher learning. He may have been less comfortable with seeing his name taking Dunn's place simply because racism and what it represents are issues that unfortunately cannot be erased by one well-intentioned gesture.
I’m
certain De would find the tenor of current race relations deeply troubling. He personally
experienced the worst of human nature. He certainly would be dismayed to see racism
so virulently rise again, following decades of so much progress. We can all honor De by not only remembering his accomplishments as an
architect possessed of great skill, but also by having the courage to challenge
bigotry and hatred whenever and wherever we see it.
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