Harvard University has made a firm decision to keep the name of the Sackler family on two of its buildings, despite facing protests from families of opioid overdose victims and anti-opioid groups. The Arthur M Sackler Museum and the Arthur M Sackler Building will continue to bear the Sackler name, according to a recent update on the denaming proposal.
The Sackler name has been closely associated with the opioid epidemic, as the family owned Purdue Pharma, the former manufacturer of OxyContin. This prescription painkiller has been linked to over 500,000 overdose deaths in the US over the past two decades. Despite this connection, the Harvard review committee found that the petition to remove the Sackler name did not meet the necessary criteria for denaming under the university’s procedures.
The committee explained that while Arthur M Sackler’s legacy is complex, they were not convinced by the arguments presented in the proposal. They did not believe that denaming was appropriate based on Arthur Sackler’s association with other members of the family or his role in developing pharmaceutical marketing techniques that were later misused.
The Harvard Corporation, the university’s highest governing body, accepted the committee’s recommendation to retain the Sackler name on the buildings. This decision has been met with criticism from groups like Prescription Addiction Intervention Now (Pain), who believe that Harvard’s choice is disrespectful to overdose victims and their families. They urge the university to uphold its values as a center of higher learning and historical preservation.
Despite protests and proposals for denaming, Harvard’s stance on the Sackler name remains unchanged. This decision sets Harvard apart from other institutions like Tufts University, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Tate galleries, which have removed Sackler-related programs or signage in response to the opioid crisis.
While some students and community members have expressed disappointment in Harvard’s decision, the university has not provided a public response to the criticism. The debate over the Sackler name at Harvard reflects larger discussions around accountability, legacy, and responsibility in the context of the opioid epidemic.