More building names should be dedicated to alumni based on merit, not just donations

I’ve always dreamed that Ramzanali Hall would one day be the name of a building on campus. But the announcement that the Luskins will get the new residential conference center and the School of Public Affairs named after them at the price of $100 million made me realize my dream may never come true.

How UCLA buildings get their names is an interesting topic. Of all of the named buildings, there’s a near even split between those that are dedicated to donors and those that are dedicated to faculty.

But almost all of the recent building dedications have been made because of large donations. Bradley Hall and The Ashe Center seem to be the only buildings named after accomplished non-donor Bruins in the last 20 years. In the same time period, over a dozen buildings have been named for donors such as Kaufman, the Broads, Fowler, LaKretz and Terasaki.

UCLA is in a tough place financially, and needs to continue looking for donors. But while donations like the Luskins’ should be recognized and encouraged, we should make a real effort to appreciate accomplished Bruins that may not have given millions of dollars.

Successful Bruins who make names for themselves are just as important for the university, if not more, than the alumni who donate millions of dollars. These Bruins better UCLA’s reputation, and we should celebrate their achievements.

More than 40 buildings at UCLA are unnamed. There are many deserving Bruins whose names could be put in gold letters on these buildings. There are even more centers, institutes, schools, think tanks, libraries and collections that could also help UCLA recognize these alumni.

In South Campus, for example, the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science is named for a donor and Boelter Hall is named for the first dean of the school. But the school has seen a number of famous alumni and accomplished professors who could help replace the names of Engineering Buildings 1, 4 and 5.

In 2007, Professor Leonard Kleinrock received the National Medal of Science, the highest honor for scientific achievement given by the U.S. president. Kleinrock, considered the “father of the Internet,” sent the first message ever over the precursor of the modern Internet. Yet few students on campus recognize his name. Renaming one of the unnamed engineering buildings after him would help bring attention to one of UCLA’s great achievements.
Further, UCLA has five alumni Nobel laureates whose names you won’t see on a campus map. The Nobel Prize is the most recognizable prize in academics and we should definitely be celebrating all of our Nobel laureates.

To look at a list of award-winning UCLA athlete alumni would take a while, but there are certainly some that stand out more than others: Kareem Abdul Jabbar led UCLA to three national championships and won six most valuable player awards while in the NBA.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee won three Olympic gold medals and was named the greatest female athlete of the last century. And Troy Aikman led the Dallas Cowboys to three Superbowls wins, was named to the Pro Bowl six times, and was selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

I’m not saying Aikman Hall should replace Royce Hall. But we should consider giving him something like the Intramural Field.

Bruins go on to do great things. Donating money shouldn’t be the only stick for measuring how UCLA recognizes its alumni.

Know any alumni that deserve a building? E-mail Ramzanali at [email protected]. Send general comments to [email protected].