The Budd Center at San Joaquin Delta College carries a tarnished legacy by name association. It's time to change that.

Since the college's inception, the center (one of the legacy buildings on campus) has been named for former California Gov. James Budd. It needs to be noted that Budd had no connections 

Budd's history was one of many studied by Delta College History Professor Dr. Sarah Seekatz during a sabbatical leave in Fall 2024. She submitted a 223 page document that has not been acted on by any committee or administrator on campus. The document can be viewed here. 

Seekatz wrote a comprehensive report that digs into and notes the problematic naming of buildings and how those names have not been reconciled in the institution's move toward being a "student-centered, anti-racist, and equity-focused college."

Seekatz noted that the "burden to make change here, falls on the college and its administration, not the students." The "mental, emotional, and intellectual labor required to not only uncover these histories but then fight to make change is one that takes a toll on those already spread thin working for social justice and should not be placed on the backs of the students who so often are also working and caregiving."

As one of Seekatz's longtime colleagues, it has become very clear to me that despite substantial and exhaustive research and rationale, Delta College administration - which was charged to make the change - needs a substantive nudge to do so.

This petition calls for the campus to make substantive change by starting processes to evaluate historic/legacy building names to ensure those names align with Delta College's mission statement, current, and future goals. These are our core values, yet we continue each day as if harm is not done by holding on to legacy ideals.

Budd's biography "suggest a man with racist and misogynistic views and actions." The research notes that his "extensive biography ... suggests a man with racist and misogynistic views and actions." Having an entire center named after such a man is in direct conflict with Delta College's 2026 mission. 

The undersigns of this petition call on the campus to remove the Budd name from the building as a first step in reconciliation of alignment to the campus mission.