There is an effort underway to rename Alderman Library, while it is in the midst of renovation. Edwin Alderman was the first president of the University of Virginia, beginning in 1904, and served in this office until his death in 1931. He founded the Curry School of Education and was the first to admit women as graduate students, beginning in 1920. He substantially increased the number of students and faculty during his tenure. He also strengthened UVA's financial position, leaving an endowment of $10 million. His leadership set up UVA for the future. Some of his views on the place of African-Americans in society, as well as eugenics, were wrong and abhorrent, and people must acknowledge this to have a true understanding of history and the historical figures whom we honor. Alderman's great achievements have merited him the honor he has been given, even in the face of this. Honoring morally complex figures is not a moral failure. It is an essential duty of present peoples to forgive the transgressions of the past, in gratitude to the giants whose shoulders we now stand on. Students have come to know Alderman Library as both a central landmark and a place of study. Do not let the seemingly strong tides of present sentiment sweep away an essential part of the University's History!