A dorm that was named for a man who pushed for selective breeding to improve the human race has been renamed for a distinguished Chinese graduate at the University of Virginia.
The Lewis House is now the Yen House-named for Yan Huiqing or W.W. Yen. He was the first international student to earn a bachelor degree from UVA who went on to be China’s premiere for five years.
He graduated in 1900.
“Mr. Yen serves as a distinguished example of a true global scholar committed to cross-cultural exchange, peace, and goodwill,” read the resolution passed by the university’s Board of Visitors last month.
In 2016, UVA established the Yen Fund which supports students, faculty and visiting scholars dedicated to teaching or learning about Chinese history, society or culture.
The former Lewis House was named for Ivey Foreman Lewis in 1984. Lewis was an advocate for the now discredited Eugenics theory. Eugenicists are blamed for the forced sterilization of those diagnosed with mental disorders.
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