Artist's rendering of garden

CPUC committee seeks suggestions for naming new garden, East Pyne arch

This artist's rendering shows the anticipated landscape of a public garden being constructed as a green roof covering a portion of Firestone Library between Firestone Plaza and Nassau Street.

The CPUC Committee on Naming that last spring recommended that the former West College be renamed Morrison Hall in honor of Nobel Laureate and former Princeton faculty member Toni Morrison and that the main auditorium in Robertson Hall be named in honor of Nobel Laureate and former Princeton faculty member Sir Arthur Lewis is seeking suggestions for the naming of two spaces that the trustees have referred to the committee for this year.

The two spaces are a public garden that is being constructed as a green roof covering a portion of Firestone Library between Firestone Plaza and Nassau Street, and the easternmost arch in East Pyne Hall. Advice and suggestions regarding the naming of these spaces can be submitted through the committee’s website. The committee also requests suggestions of names that could be considered when other spaces are referred to the committee in the future.

According to the committee’s website, the garden “will exemplify the University’s commitment to sustainability, and it will be in a prominent location that members of the campus community and visitors to the campus pass by frequently. It is readily visible from Nassau Street, and thus to the town.”

East Pyne Hall arch

A view from the East Pyne courtyard through the building's eastern arch. 

The Pyne Hall arch, it says, “looks out on Firestone Plaza and the Chapel; it is the first arch students pass through when they leave the Chapel after Opening Exercises and the first they pass through when they leave after Baccalaureate…. This arch is on the regular route for Orange Key tour guides.”

In referring the two spaces to the committee, President Christopher L. Eisgruber said “while both of these spaces are outdoors, they are different in character — one is entirely open and newly created, whereas the other is defined and partially enclosed by one of Princeton’s oldest and most prominent collegiate gothic buildings. Both are in areas heavily trafficked by members of the campus community, by alumni when they are on campus, and by townspeople and other outside visitors.”

The Committee on Naming was established in the fall of 2016 to provide advice to the trustees “for naming buildings or other spaces not already named for historical figures or donors to recognize individuals who would bring a more diverse presence to the campus.”

Committee members include four members of the faculty, including the committee chair, Professor Angela Creager of the Department of History; two undergraduates; a graduate student; an alumnus; and two members of the administration.