COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

HOUSE OF DELEGATES
RICHMOND

MARCUS B. SIMON

Post Office Box 958

Falls Church, Virginia 22040

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS:
Militia, Police, and Public Safety
Science and Technology

FIFTY-THIRD DISTRICT

April 27, 2016

Mr. G. Gilmer Minor III
State Council of Higher Education for Virginia
101 N. 14th Street, 10th Floor
James Monroe Building
Richmond, VA 23219
Dear Chairman Minor:
As you know, there has been a great deal of controversy concerning George Mason Universitys
surprise announcement earlier this month regarding their desire to rename their law school the
Antonin Scalia School of Law in exchange for a pledge of $20,000,000.00 from an anonymous
donor. In the weeks since this has been made public, I have received countless urgent messages
and correspondence from Virginians opposed to the change.
On March 31st, I created an online petition to provide a vehicle for those concerned about the
sale of the naming rights to the law school, the process by which the request came about, and the
requested new name to register their opposition. On April 5th several General Assembly
colleagues sent a letter to SCHEV requesting that the renaming request be given serious
consideration before making a final decision. Since then, 1,233 Virginians, alumni and other
concerned individuals have signed the petition, and the number continues to grow every day. The
text of the petition is as follows:
Stop GMU from selling the naming rights to the law school to anonymous donors who want to
name it for Antoni Scalia. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) has to
approve the change. If you agree that public comment and input from alumni and current
students is important, sign this petition. Let SCHEV, Governor McAuliffe, and Dr. Angel
Cabrera, President of George Mason University, know where you stand. There is still time to
make your voice heard. Sign the petition today and show the administration that changing the
law school's name demands further examination.

My primary purpose in writing you again today is to urge you and the staff at SCHEV to take
very seriously the request of these 1200+ signers for a transparent decision making process that
includes the opportunity for public input. While SCHEV staff will review this issue to determine
if it is simple or complex, no public comments or concerns about it will be solicited. Only if the
issue is deemed complex will the SCHEV Board weigh in on the decision.

DISTRICT: (571) 327-0053 RICHMOND: (804) 698-1053 EMAIL: delmsimon@house.virginia.gov

A law school named for Scalia is likely to be as polarizing and controversial as the man himself.
At a minimum, we owe it to the faculty, staff, and students of George Mason University an
opportunity to express their support or opposition.
I have attached a list of the names, city and state of each individual signing the petition. I urge
you and the SCHEV staff reviewing this renaming to take the 1,233 petition signatures into
account during this process.
Yours in service,

Marcus B. Simon