RSAC Final Report
A middle-of-the-road resolution on renaming Palo Alto public
schools – Ben Lenail – December 13, 2016
This position is arrived at after serious consideration of the Committee’s Majority Report
on December 12, 2016.
There is an issue with two names in our school district: Jordan Middle School and
Terman Middle School.
Facts and Recommendation on David Starr Jordan Middle School:
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David Starr Jordan was founding president of Stanford and an important scientist
and civic leader.
He was a prominent leader of the eugenics movement in the first decades of the
20th century, and advocated compulsory sterilization of human beings deemed
“undesirable.”
The eugenics movement is discredited on all counts of ethics, science, and public
policy.
Many of Jordan’s writings and positions are abhorrent, and he never altered or
revised them. On the contrary, he strongly held to his views and made his
eugenics agenda the chief pursuit of his public life.
The increasingly diverse composition of our district, the tolerant and inclusive
aspirations of our community, and the mission statement of our district are in
complete misalignment with the tenets of the eugenic movement. Thus we must
affirmatively disavow the legacy of eugenics and its frontmen.
The school has held the Jordan name for 80 years. Much history and tradition is
embedded in a name. A name is a potent symbol.
The wide gap between Jordan’s life and our community today mandate a new
brand and trajectory for this school. It is recommended the name “Jordan” be
dropped entirely and a new name be chosen.
Facts and Recommendation on Terman Middle School:
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The school is named after Lewis Terman and his son Frederick Terman.
Lewis Terman was an important scientist, educator, and Stanford administrator.
He invented the IQ test. He was highly supportive of the eugenics movement with
a deterministic view that intelligence (or its alleged opposite: “stupidity”) is a
genetically inherited trait that determines one’s lifelong value to society.
Appendix 6 : Middle -of-the-road resolution on renaming Palo Alto public schools -- Ben Lenail
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RSAC Final Report
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Lewis Terman’s scholarship was biased and his beliefs are mostly discredited. His
legacy stands in sharp contrast to the values and aspirations of our school district
and the population it serves.
Frederick Terman was a brilliant electrical engineer, author of a magisterial
textbook on radio signals, legendary dean of electrical engineering at Stanford,
and effective provost at Stanford. He mentored various iconic entrepreneurs
like Varian, Hewlett and Packard. He hired several Jewish professors (Carl
Djerassi, Joshua Lederberg, Arthur Kornberg and Henry Kaplan); insisted on pay
parity / equity for staff; and made a pioneering effort in the 1940s and 50s to
attract students from underrepresented communities. He played a very
significant role in defeating Nazi Germany with his classified work on military
signals during WWII.
There is no record of Frederick Terman ever expressing interest or support for
eugenics. On the contrary, he lived a life entirely free of prejudice.
The majority of the committee contends that Frederick Terman is forever tainted
by his father’s legacy. I reject this contention as flawed in morals and practice.
Morally, our society broadly accepts the tenet “Do not punish the child for the
sins of the father”. This is codified in our statutes.
Practically, places and institutions are named after worthy characters despite
their ancestry. For instance, several public places in Germany are named after
Manfred Rommel (1928-2013) who was the beloved mayor of Stuttgart and a
pioneer of European cooperation, regardless of the fact that he was the son of
Hitler’s top Field Marshal.
It is recommended Terman Middle School be named only after Frederick Terman,
and a proclamation be made that any tie to Lewis Terman’s name and legacy is
rescinded.
Sources:
❖ RSAC Majority Report – December 13, 2016
❖ Stanford’s revisited biography of Frederick Terman (2004):
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2004/november3/Terman-1103.html
❖ Wikipedia biography of Frederick Terman:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Terman
❖ Interview with Andrea Goldsmith, professor of electrical engineering and former
chair of the Stanford Faculty Senate, November 19, 2016: “I consider Frederick
Terman a Hero.”
❖ Personal interview with Gregory Loew, Holocaust survivor and former deputy
director of SLAC, who worked for Frederick Terman in the 1950s, October 2016.
Appendix 6 : Middle -of-the-road resolution on renaming Palo Alto public schools -- Ben Lenail
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