UC Hastings Law will be known as UC Law SF starting in 2023

A: The new name is UC College of the Law, San Francisco, or UC Law SF, for short. The California State Senate and Assembly passed Assembly Bill 1936 in late August, which revises the California Education Code to the new name. The Governor signed AB 1936 on September 23, 2022. The bill will be effective on January 1, 2023.

A: Assembly Bill 1936 goes into effect January 1, 2023. However, we are gathering resources and implementing a campus-wide plan to effectuate the name change on all of our virtual and physical spaces. Although legally effective January 1, 223, we will decide on an exact date to “go live” with the new name sometime in 2023. Until then, the school remains known as UC Hastings.

A: In November 2021, the College’s Board of Directors unanimously voted to remove “Hastings” from the College’s name in recognition of the harms done by the school’s founder against the Yuki Indians in the Round Valley and Eden Valley region. The Board reaffirmed that decision in June 2022 after further careful review of the historical record. Historical research sponsored by the College indicated that College founder and first dean Serranus C. Hastings funded and supported individuals who engaged in mass killings and other atrocities against the Yuki Indians, primarily from 1858 to 1860, around 20 years before he founded the College.

A: After numerous meetings, surveys, and hearings that sought input, the large majority of students, staff, faculty, and alumni preferred that the new name reflect the College’s geographic designation. The College has been located in San Francisco since its founding in 1878 and the new name captures the full breadth of what the law school represents. Located two blocks from San Francisco City Hall, at the intersection of the Civic Center, Tenderloin, and Mid-Market neighborhoods, the College is an integral part of the city in which it resides, and San Francisco is an integral part of the experience of studying at the College. It is also the uniform approach of the University of California and the California State University System to name its campuses by their geographic locations.

A: The name change is effective as of January 1, 2023 and cannot be changed again without further action by the California State Legislature. The name UC College of the Law, San Francisco (UC Law SF for short) was chosen by the College’s Board of Directors after an extensive process and numerous meetings.

A: The Board of Directors considered suggestions for a Yuki language name. However, doing so was not agreed upon, even among the Yuki people. Some Yuki descendants preferred no name change, supported a geographic designation, or a Yuki-language name. Additionally, leadership of the Ramaytush Ohlone, on whose ancestral lands the College is located, did not support a Yuki name and made clear that it would cause great offense to name a College on their ancestral land in another tribe’s language. After hearing from all of the law school’s constituencies (hundreds of emails and letter), including students, staff, faculty, administrators, alumni, and the California Native community, the Board of Directors believed it would be most appropriate that a geographic name be selected.

A: Until we announce an exact date in 2023 when we will go live with the new name, the College should be referred to as UC Hastings. After that go-live date, it still may be necessary to let someone know that UC Law SF used to be known as UC Hastings, but over time, the goal is to use UC College of the Law, San Francisco, or UC Law SF, exclusively. Our website, logo, seal, and merchandise will all be changed to reflect the new name. Students and alumni will receive guidance on how to reference the law school in relations to its new and old name so as not to create added confusion for employers and colleagues.

A: Your school records, diploma, and alumni status remain the same. There is no need for you to get a new diploma. If alumni are interested in ordering a new diploma with the new name, they will have an opportunity to do so.

A: It is not necessary to reopen your estate documents merely for this purpose. However, if at any point in the future you are revising those documents, it would be a best practice to make the change then.

A: Besides changing its name, the College has been working on restorative justice measures with Round Valley Indian Tribes since 2017. That has included offering pro bono legal services to California Native tribes, opening an Indigenous Law Center at the school, and installing a permanent memorial space on the College’s campus. A comprehensive history of the issue and of the law school’s restorative justice efforts are included on the Recognition and Reconciliation page of the law school’s website. The College will continue to work closely with the affected tribes on restorative justice measures even after the renaming is completed.

A:  In early November, the UC Hastings legal team filed a motion seeking immediate dismissal of a lawsuit filed by some of Serranus Hastings’ relatives and a small group of alumni. The College requested that the court dismiss this lawsuit because the decision to change our name was based on activity that is protected under the United States and California Constitutions, including the First Amendment. It is our belief that plaintiffs cannot show that any of their claims against the College will succeed. The College remains committed to moving forward with the name change, and to continuing our restorative justice efforts with the support of the campus community.

There will be a six-month name transition period from January 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023. Starting January 1, we will use UC Law San Francisco/UC Law SF on all of our communications, and begin phasing out the use of UC Hastings across our campus, including converting all external, internal, physical, and virtual instances of our name to UC Law SF.

Departments can use the six-month transition period, until June 30, to finish using/giving away their UC Hastings merchandise or leftover swag. However, departments should not be ordering additional UC Hastings merchandise after January 1, as the goal is to finish distributing UC Hastings items ASAP during the transition period.

We have a contract with a new online student store and will share information to all law school departments on how to order merchandise from that store. They will have our branded logos and word marks. Departments are also allowed to use outside vendors, as long as they use the new approved branded logos and word marks. A branding guide will be sent out by early 2023 to guide how to correctly use these marks.

Our new approved logos and word marks will be shared with the Business Center by the end of the year, along with our brand guidelines, so that departments can start to order new business cards and letterhead as needed.

A branding guide will be coming soon! Keep an eye out in your email for the new branding guide, which will feature our new seal and word marks and directions on how to use them.

A: If you have additional questions about the school’s name change, please reach out to the law school’s Chief Communications Officer Elizabeth Moore at: mooreelizabeth@uchastings.edu or 415-703-8266.