Members of the task force considering whether to change the name of MTSU’s Forrest Hall have set Tuesday, Dec. 1, for the first of two open forums on the topic.

Task force chairman Derek Frisby, who heads the 17-member panel of students, faculty, alumni and community members, said the forum will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1, in the Parliamentary Room, Room 201, on the second floor of the Student Union.

Dr. Derek Frisby chairs the 17-member task force considering whether Forrest Hall should be renamed. (MTSU photo illustration)

A searchable parking map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParking2015-16.

Frisby, a Civil War historian and faculty member in the Global Studies and Cultural Geography department, said the task force will hold a second public forum in late January.

The university announced in June that it would engage the community on the name of the campus building that houses MTSU’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program and is named after Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee asked the panel to recommend by April whether the building should be renamed; retain the name but with added historical perspective; or recommend that no action or change is warranted.

The Tennessee Board of Regents would have to approve any recommended name change and the university is also researching whether other state authorities would have to give approval as well.

Task force meetings are open to the public. For more information about the task force, visit www.mtsu.edu/forresthall.