On April 27th, President Peter Salovey announced the names of Yale’s new residential colleges. The northern-most college, located closest to Science Park, will be named after Pauline (Pauli) Murray, a life-long civil rights activist and Yale Alumna. This decision marks a major turning point in the academy’s history and reflects the cultural diversity of the present-day Yale campus.
A strong legal practitioner and theorist, Murray’s work shaped the fight against segregation, advocated for women’s rights, and challenged discrimination on the basis of sex and race in jury selection. The decision to name one of the new residential colleges after a leading civil rights activist, reflects Yale’s continued mission towards a more inclusive Yale, where members in its community feel apart of the university’s history and future. Pauli Murray was the first African- American woman to graduate from Yale Law School and represents a major part of Yale’s legacy in achieving real societal change.