Washington & Lee faculty OK motion to remove ‘Lee’ from name

More steps remain before name would be changed

Woman who says she's a descendant of Washington and Lee founder not happy with potential name change

LEXINGTON, Va. – Faculty at Washington and Lee University have voted to remove Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s name from the school, but that doesn’t mean necessarily such a change will occur.

The motion was approved on Monday during a special video conference meeting attended by faculty members, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

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The recommendation was sent to the board of trustees, which would have to make any change.

A school spokesperson says “there are no current plans to change” the name.

The school was named for early benefactor George Washington and Lee, who was a president of the university and is buried in a campus chapel.

Lee became the president a few months after the end of the Civil War and held the position for five years.

After Lee died in 1870, the faculty requested that the trustees rename the college in Lee’s honor, according to the university.

The trustees agreed, changing the name from Washington College to Washington and Lee University.