How BK Roberts Hall got its name — Rename B.K. Roberts Hall Now!

Prior to 1950 the state of Florida had only one public law school--at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The rivalry between FSU and UF was not limited to sports--it also extended to academic programs--and in the 1960s FSU wanted its own law school to keep pace with the Gators.

In 1965 the legislature authorized a law school at FSU (Chapter 65-309, Laws of Florida) and President John Champion appointed two committees to get the school up and running. B.K. Roberts, then a Florida Supreme Court Justice, was named to head one of the committees and spearheaded the effort to establish a law school at FSU. The committee led by Roberts found and hired a dean (Mason Ladd) and made arrangements for faculty, classroom space, and books for the law library. By September 1966 the school opened in Longmire Hall with an inaugural class of 125 students.

Subsequently, a new stand-alone building was built to house the law school and in 1973 the legislature named it "B. K. Roberts Hall" citing his many legal accomplishments and his tireless efforts to establish the school at FSU (Chapter 73-370, Laws of Florida). The text of that law can be found in the program for the dedication ceremony, which was held November 19, 1974 with assorted dignitaries in attendance. Despite a group of students protesting Roberts’ segregationist past, no mention of it was made during the ceremony.

B.K. Roberts's name remains on the building today, despite FSU’s declaration that it does not fit in with the school’s current values or commitment to the rule of law. As noted by the 2018 FSU committee in considering renaming B.K. Roberts Hall and other campus buildings, several other colleges and universities across the nation have reexamined names on buildings that seemed appropriate at the time but in retrospect seemed problematic under modern standards--which include opinions from a more diverse group than the power structure in charge during the original selection.