By: Heather Mongilio
February 17, 2023 3:04 PM
The former Maury Hall at the US Naval Academy. USNA Photo
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro renamed the Naval Academy building, formerly named after a member of the Confederacy, after the only U.S. president to attend the institution.
Maury Hall, which was named after Matthew Fontaine Maury, considered the father of naval oceanography who joined the Confederacy, will now be known as Carter Hall, named after former President Jimmy Carter, who graduated from the academy in 1946, reads a Navy press release.
“When Secretary Austin directed us to implement the recommendations of the Naming Commission, he instructed us to give proud new names. Names that echo with honor, patriotism, and history. Names that will inspire generations of service members to defend our democracy and our Constitution,” Del Toro said during a renaming ceremony, according to the release. “Today, on the Friday before Presidents Day weekend, that is exactly what we are doing. I can think of no one more worthy of this renaming than President Jimmy Carter.”
Carter is the only president to attend the academy.
“By naming this building in his honor we not only recognize his great contributions but ensure that his legacy will forever inspire our nation’s future leaders,” academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Sean Buck said in the release. “For generations to come, when midshipmen walk the corridors of Carter Hall, I have no doubt that they will be reminded of President Carter’s example and his legacy of lifelong service, and reinvigorated with the call to serve we all answered when we took our first oath.”
Carter Hall is one of two buildings identified on the academy’s campus with names tied to the Confederacy by the Naming Commission, a group, led by retired Adm. Michele Howard, appointed by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to identify military assets that had links to the Confederacy.
At the Naval Academy, the group suggested the now former Maury Hall, Buchanan Road and Buchanan House, where the superintendent lives, for renaming. USS Chancellorsvile (CG-62) and USNS Maury (T-AGS-66) were also slated for new names. The Navy has not yet announced names for the ships.
Navy policy limits building names on the academy to deceased persons, although there are some exceptions, including Carter Hall, The Capital reported.
Hubbard Hall, which was named after Rear Adm. John Hubbard, is the first building on the academy to be named after a living person.