A Haverford College student resolution could start a process to consider stripping Howard Lutnick’s name from the library

Haverford College students plan to discuss and possibly vote on a resolution that calls on President Wendy Raymond to establish a review committee that would consider whether to strip megadonor and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s name from the library.

The move follows concerns expressed by Haverford students and alumni about Lutnick’s ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Lutnick, a 1983 graduate and former chair of the college’s board of managers, had contact with the late financier as recently as 2018, long after Epstein pleaded guilty to obtaining a minor for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute, according to documents released by the U.S. Justice Department earlier this year.

Students are scheduled to discuss the resolution Sunday afternoon at a plenary session, where students will debate and vote on important campus issues. At least 66% of the student body has to be present at the session for votes to be taken, and to pass, a resolution must win a simple majority.

» READ MORE: Haverford president is considering convening committee to review Howard Lutnick’s name on campus library

If approved, the resolution would go to Raymond, who would have 30 days to accept it in full or part or reject it. If Raymond convenes a committee, she would then consider its recommendations and make her recommendation to the external affairs committee of the board of managers, as well as to its chair and vice chair. The external affairs committee then would make its recommendation to the full board of managers.

Under Haverford’s gift policy, the school can rename a building if “the continued use of the name may be deemed detrimental to the college, or if circumstances change regarding the reason for the naming.”

Raymond said last month she is considering forming a review committee to consider whether Lutnick — who has given the school $65 million and is one of its biggest donors — should keep his name on the library. She said at that time “a growing number of Fords have written to express their dismay” about Lutnick’s ties to Epstein, which included a visit by Lutnick and his wife to Epstein’s private island.

“I feel it is extremely difficult for survivors of sexual violence to see that name and know it is so closely associated with a man who has perpetuated violence and harm to so many people,” Milja Dann, 19, a sophomore psychology major from Woodbury, N.J., told The Inquirer last month.

» READ MORE: Howard Lutnick’s name is on the library at Haverford College. Will that change after his appearance in the Epstein files?

During congressional testimony, Lutnick said he visited Epstein’s private island with his family in 2012. Lutnick previously said he had not been in a room with Epstein, whom he found “disgusting,” since 2005.

A Commerce Department spokesperson told the Associated Press in January that Lutnick had had “limited interactions” with Epstein, with his wife in attendance, and had not been accused of “wrongdoing.” Lutnick told lawmakers during his testimony: “I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with him.”

Having the library named after Lutnick “reflects poorly on Haverford College and is detrimental to the college’s reputation,” the student resolution states.

The resolution also asks the college to include student representation on the review committee along with staff from several offices including institutional diversity, equity and access. It calls on college leadership “to stand in solidarity with victims of assault.”

And it asks Haverford’s board of managers to consult directly with students before making final decisions to rename the library and on whom it would be named for.

The resolution also calls into question Lutnick’s leadership at Cantor Fitzgerald, the New York City financial firm where he formerly served as chairman. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged the firm in 2024 with violating laws related to regulatory disclosure, and Cantor agreed to pay a civil penalty. Cantor Gaming in 2016 agreed to pay $16.5 million in penalties to the federal government “to resolve a criminal investigation into the company’s past involvement in illegal gambling and money laundering schemes,” according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Cade Fanning, the associate editor of the Clerk, Haverford’s student newspaper, said the resolution has a very good chance of passing.

“People are very unhappy with Howard Lutnick and his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein,” Fanning said. “I think a lot of people really don’t want that to be the public face of our college.”