Harvard abolishes 'master' in titles in slavery row

BBC 05 March 2016

Harvard University is going to remove the word ‘master’ from academic titles, after protests from students who claimed the title had echoes of slavery, writes Sean Coughlan for the BBC.

House masters, in charge of residential halls at the university, will become known as ‘faculty deans’. Harvard Law School is also deciding whether to change its official seal, because of links to slavery.

US campuses have faced a series of protests over allegations of racism. While Harvard has not agreed that the use of ‘master’ represented a link to slavery, it has accepted campaigners' calls for a name change. It will mean changing the job titles of 24 members of staff – but will not affect other uses of ‘master’, such as a masters level degree.
Full report on the BBC site

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