By Renae Merle
Daily Texan
February 7, 1996

Ignoring appeals to let the issue die, the Faculty Council will vote on a resolution to rename the molecular biology building in honor of former UT professor and U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan at its next meeting.

The resolution asks UT System Chancellor William Cunningham and the Board of Regents to "discuss with James Robert and Louise Moffett the possibility of their voluntarily [agreeing] to a change in the proposed name ... to the Barbara Jordan Building."

The council will vote on the resolution, along with three other resolutions on the issue, at its Feb. 19 meeting.

"There is a strong interest in a resolution of this sort, but whether this will pass I don't know," said Gretchen Ritter, an assistant professor of government, who submitted the resolution.

The controversy surrounding naming the building for Jim Bob Moffett, Freeport McMoRan Inc. chief executive officer, has centered on allegations that the company has committed human rights and environmental abuses in its Indonesian mining operations. The company has consistently denied the accusations.

Ritter added that the resolution offers Moffett a gracious way to end the controversy.

"It would do [the University] a great honor to have a building named after [Jordan]," she added.

Jordan joined the faculty of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs in 1978 after serving three terms as the first black woman in Congress. She died last month of pneumonia.

Alan Cline, a professor of computer sciences, who has been a vocal opponent of the building name, said he expects the council to approve the resolution.

"I believe that it represents a good solution and the easiest solution for all parties," added Cline.

Cline and Bob Boyer, also a computer sciences professor, were sent letters by a Freeport executive threatening to sue them if they continued to comment negatively on the company.

Faculty members have criticized the threats as attempts to infringe on the professors' free speech rights, which the company and the administration both deny.

"I think [the resolution] will pass the Faculty Council. I don't think it will happen," said Student Government President Sherry Boyles.

Boyles said the administrators have firmly stood by the decision, adding that it is unlikely they will change their minds. "I'm a realist," she said.

Boyles added that the controversy is based on principles and the message that backing down would send.

"I'm not saying that I don't want [the building name] to change. I would like to be proved wrong," Boyles said.

Ed Sharpe, vice president for administration and public affairs, said the final decision has been made.

"The authority to name buildings is lodged with the Board of Regents," Sharpe said.

Freeport spokesman Bill Collier said the issue of changing the name of the building has been raised before.

"It's a University issue that we aren't going to comment on," Collier said. "The University can decide to name the building after someone else."

The council will vote on three other proposals on the Freeport issue, two submitted by Ritter and one by Cline.

The first resolution affirms the right of faculty members to freely discuss ideas on matters that affect the University and resist efforts to limit or constrain such discussions.

Ritter has said the resolution is inspired by the letters sent to Cline and Boyer. Ritter's second resolution would create a committee to review the building naming procedure and recommend changes.

Cline's resolution would appoint a committee to "inquire" about the circumstances of the donations and naming of the building.

Moffett donated $2 million to the construction of the $26 million building and Freeport donated an additional $1 million.