Ole Miss Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter has not made an announcement about or taken any action toward the vote to remove Ed Meek’s name from the Meek School of Journalism and New Media after the Council of Academic Administrators approved name change on Thursday, marking five days since Vitter received the recommendation.
Ed Meek, the namesake of the Meek School of Journalism and New Media, has requested his name be removed from the school, following controversy around a now-deleted post on his Facebook page. Photo by Christian Johnson
“If (the vote) is approved, the Council of Academic Administrators refers the matter to me as chancellor, and I will refer the request to the IHL Board for consideration on an expedited basis,” Vitter said in a statement released on Sept. 25.
Vitter first called for the voting process to be expedited on Tuesday, Sept. 25, after Meek asked the university to remove his name.
“On Monday, the faculty of the School of Journalism and New Media voted to accept Dr. Meek’s request, and the dean of the school, Will Norton, asked for expedited consideration of this matter by the councils on campus that must review it,” Vitter said in the statement.
Caron Blanton, communications director for the state Institutions of Higher Learning, did not comment on whether or not Vitter has been in contact with the IHL Board of Trustees regarding the vote or if the board supported the potential recommendation, but she did say the board would have to vote on any recommendation made by the university.
“The next regular Board of Trustees meeting will be held on Thursday, Oct. 18, at the IHL Board Room in Jackson,” Blanton said. “The agenda will be posted on the website on the afternoon prior to the meeting.”
When asked over the course of several days about an update regarding Vitter’s action on the vote, UM Communications declined to comment.
