Browning House To Be Renamed

The Academy decided last week to remove the Browning House name from the dormitory in response to a request filed by an alum, Louis N. Browning ’50, whose family donated the gift to name the dormitory.  The request expressed an unreconcilable conflict of opinions between the alum and the Academy and was accepted in hopes of respecting the alum’s wishes while maintaining consistency with the school’s policies.

In the coming weeks, the Academy will be considering alternative names for the dorm and have opened the decision process to the suggestions of the community. The decision will go into effect immediately after the alum has signed and formalized the request and the Academy has come to a conclusion on the dorm’s new name.

“Mr. Browning and the Academy have a very sincere and profound difference of beliefs on the subjects of diversity and inclusion and equal opportunity.”

Browning could not be reached for comment  before the newspaper went to print.

In January,  Browning sent a letter to President of Trustees Eunice Panetta ’84, asking for his family’s name’s removal. Browning, along with his two brothers, who donated the gift in honor of their father years ago, explained that the views of the school no longer aligned with his. Browning found the representation of students from the area between the Appalachians and Rocky Mountains—a region he defined as the “hinterlands”—to be lacking. Secondly, Browning rejected Exeter’s gradual endorsement of “same-gender marriage and homosexual coupling.”

Since the Board of Trustees received the letter, they have decided to honor Browning’s wishes. Panetta explained the Trustees’ choice, saying that Browning has the right to ask that the family name be removed. “The decision is, thus, not the trustees’ decision to make; it is Mr. Browning’s,” Panetta said.

According to Panetta, the school will consider alternative names for the house in due time. “If members of the community have suggestions they may write to Principal MacFarlane with them,” she said. Lower Teddy Scott, who currently resides in Browning House, said that the decision was an appropriate conclusion to the predicament and said, “I’m mostly just curious about the new name.”

Panetta expressed her regret regarding the situation, but said that such conflicts of opinion are inevitable. “In this case, Mr. Browning and the Academy have a very sincere and profound difference of beliefs on the subjects of diversity and inclusion and equal opportunity, especially with regard to sexual orientation,” she said. She described the Trustees’ strong belief that Exeter’s policies on this subject align with the core values of the school. “Therefore, this seems like the best outcome for Mr. Browning and for Exeter,” she said.