KCTCS Board of Regents Policies

7.10 Naming of Buildings and Facilities for Private Donors

As authorized by KRS 164.350, the KCTCS Board of Regents has naming authority for colleges and for college buildings and facilities. Choosing appropriate names for buildings of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System is of the utmost importance in conveying to the public the value of postsecondary education and training, the strong support of the public and private sectors for the vision and mission of KCTCS, and an image of the highest integrity and excellence.

Establishing policies for naming buildings will serve the following ends:

• Aid the colleges, the KCTCS President, and the Board of Regents in selecting suitable names for all KCTCS buildings and facilities;
• Encourage participation in the naming process by the regents, System staff, community, college boards, administration, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends; and
• Make more generally understood the considerations involved in suitably naming buildings.

7.10.1 General Policies

1. All KCTCS buildings should carry, as part of their names, terms that describe their function(s), regardless of other names that may also be given them. Functionally descriptive names attached to buildings, however, do not prevent their subsequent use for different purposes and with different names.
2. When another name seems more appropriate than a functionally descriptive one, recommendations should demonstrate the following:
   1. Remarkable associations of the proposed name with either the history of the college and/or System, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the nation, or with the advancement of knowledge and learning;
   2. That the proposed name will remain memorable long beyond the lifetime of those who propose the name.
3. Considerable discretion and historical perspective should be observed before proposing building names. The recommendations of persons in active service to the college or the System, whether as an employee or as a volunteer, should be discouraged. The same holds true for elected officials at the local, state, or national level.
4. It is appropriate and often very desirable to name a building (or parts thereof) to express the esteem and appreciation the college and/or KCTCS feels for an individual, family, business, or organization that has given significantly and voluntarily of their time and money and/or who has brought extraordinary honor to the institution/System by their accomplishments. Whenever possible, the name should grace a structure that houses some activity appropriate to the field of interest or endeavor of the named person or group.
5. Buildings devoted to the interests of a single administrative or academic unit may carry names associated historically with that field of study/endeavor or whose expressed interests in that field merit being honored or memorialized.
6. General administrative and multipurpose office and classroom buildings serving several disciplines or offices may properly carry names of historical significance to the college/System as a whole, as distinct from those names of interest only to a particular function or use.
7. Off-campus structures should ordinarily be given names that describe their geographical location, regardless of other names that may also be given them.
8. Service structures should carry only functionally descriptive names.
9. When no final determination of the name of a new building seems appropriate at the time of construction or occupancy, it shall be given a functionally descriptive name until such time as circumstances warrant a permanent name.
10. The names of certain existing buildings which reflect participation in underwriting their construction by some donor, subscription, or other special circumstance, and whose original use was designed for particular occupants, may come in question when occupancy is changed. In such cases, special consideration should be given to the determination of its original name. Consultations between all interested parties should precede recommendations to the Board of Regents.
11. he names of rooms in a building (or spaces within or an adjoining building) shall be left to the discretion of the college president/chief executive officer administering the space. However, it is recommended that local administrators follow the spirit, if not the letter, of the policies and guidelines for naming buildings when affixing names to other parts of the facilities.
12. The duty of recommending building names shall be vested in a Named Building Advisory Committee appointed by and reporting to the KCTCS President.
13. Naming a building for a private donor should meet one of the following guidelines:
    1. The donor's contribution represents approximately 25% of the building's current value (if an existing facility) or the projected construction costs of a new building. For example, a $10 million facility would require an approximate private gift of $2.5 million to consider naming the facility for the donor; or
    2. The donor's contribution represents approximately 25% of the total capital campaign fund-raising goal. For example, a $10 million capital campaign fund-raising goal would require an approximate gift of $2.5 million to consider naming a facility for the donor.

The KCTCS President shall develop the procedures to implement the Naming of Buildings and Facilities for Private Donors.