Prospect to remove first principal’s name from theater over ties to controversial teachings

The last name of Prospect High School’s first principal will be removed from the entrance to the school’s theater, Northwest Suburban High School District 214 school board members have decided.

The unanimous decision late last week to rescind the honorary naming follows publication of a student journalist’s investigation into former Principal Alvin Kulieke’s ties to a fringe religious group and its early embrace of eugenics principles.

Superintendent Scott Rowe said sophomore Sage Gilliland’s reporting, published in the May 16 edition of The Prospector school newspaper, shined a light on historical information about the theater’s namesake that is “not in line with the beliefs of Prospect High School or District 214 today.”

“I understand the belief that honors given in a different era shouldn’t necessarily be removed as times change,” Rowe said. “At the same time, I deeply believe that all students deserve to feel welcome and represented in every space in our schools. I would hate for any student to feel less than welcome in the space because of the message a name might now represent, even when the original intent was positive.”

Gilliland’s exposé detailed Kulieke’s connections to the Urantia movement and its 2,097-page religious and scientific book published in 1955. Kulieke co-authored workbooks that were used as study aids to train teachers and students of the movement in the 1950s and 1960s.

Among the annotated passages, Gilliland notes, are those that call for “subnormal” men to be “kept under society’s control” and other justifications for slavery. Gilliland also discovered science exams Kulieke wrote for the Urantia Brotherhood School that posed questions about which races were “most intelligent (and) belligerent.”

After the student reporter shared the information with district and school administrators in February, they launched their own review of Kulieke’s past and the district’s naming practices in general. In April, the school board adopted a new policy formally giving them the power to approve or rescind namings of district facilities and programs.

Current Prospect Principal Greg Minter convened a committee of staff members across departments that recommended Kulieke’s name be stripped from the theater. The district’s executive council comprising Rowe, associate superintendents and principals agreed. That led to the school board vote Thursday night.

Board member Vicki Chung thanked Gilliland for bringing the issue to light, and said renaming the space is “the right move to reflect the inclusive environment that we’re trying to build.”

“It’s not about discrediting anybody. It’s about recognizing that names on public spaces have meanings,” Chung said. “And when we hear from our students that the name on a space makes them feel unwelcome, then we take those concerns very seriously.”

Gilliland, who was out of town on a family vacation but livestreamed the meeting online, said board members and the administration “showed their courage.”

“They took a stand and proved just how much they care about their students, and that when they advocate the values of diversity and inclusion, it’s not just talk, but action too,” she said. “It might have been easier to sweep this under the rug, but they didn’t, and I can’t thank them enough.”

Gilliland became an advocate for the name removal after discovering more about the former principal’s ties to the Urantia movement and how it clashed with her own background as an individual with autism. In addition to her work on the school newspaper, the 16-year-old regularly has performed in school plays in the theater.

“I didn’t run this story to drag anyone’s name through the mud,” she said. “I did this to make my community safer — to urge people to face our history and publicly stand up for those who need it the most.”

At the board meeting Thursday, Halbert Katzen — an author of “The Urantia Book” study aids of his own — was the lone defender of Kulieke’s name remaining in place. Katzen said the early 20th century text speaks positively about racial mixtures, and he questioned if good journalistic practices and review processes are in place in the school district.

Kulieke, a World War II veteran, began his District 214 career as a chemistry teacher at the old Arlington High School in 1946. He helped welcome the first class of 850 freshmen to Prospect in 1957. Upon Kulieke’s death in 1973, the school board agreed to name the theater in his honor.

“The honor bestowed upon Mr. Kulieke was well deserved,” Rowe said. “At the same time, we recognize that our understanding of inclusion, belonging and leadership has evolved since Prospect first opened its doors. While Mr. Kulieke’s professional contributions to the school’s founding are a permanent part of Prospect’s history, we also acknowledge the personal beliefs or social norms from earlier eras may not reflect the values of our school community today.”

Minter said Kulieke’s name will be removed in the next week or two, and the small venue will be known as the Prospect Theatre. Kulieke’s picture remains part of a historical timeline display in a different part of the school.