Student groups and activists at universities across the United States are mounting campaigns to remove the names of Jeffrey Epstein associates from campus buildings, citing the donors' documented connections to the late convicted sex offender.

At Ohio State University, protesters have targeted buildings named for retail mogul Les Wexner, including the Les Wexner Football Complex and facilities at the Wexner Medical Center. Former Ohio State athletes who survived a previous sexual abuse scandal at the school have formally requested removal of Wexner's name, arguing that Epstein's involvement in many of Wexner's family spending decisions, including the football complex's naming, has tainted the donor's generosity. Wexner has not been charged with any crime and has said he was "duped" by Epstein, his former financial adviser.

Similar efforts are underway at Harvard University, where students and faculty want the Leslie H. Wexner Building at the Kennedy School renamed. The March request cites Wexner's "strong ties to Epstein" and argues that Epstein used wealth gained from Wexner to "traffic and abuse children and women." Harvard students also seek removal of the Farkas name from Farkas Hall, as Andrew Farkas had business relationships with Epstein and facilitated more than $300,000 in donations from Epstein to Harvard's Hasty Pudding organization between 2013 and 2019.

Other universities facing pressure include Haverford College in Pennsylvania, where students voted to urge renaming the Howard Lutnick Library named for the current U.S. commerce secretary, and Tufts University regarding facilities named for Steve Tisch. UCLA and Stony Brook University also have buildings named for documented Epstein associates.

The campaigns reflect a broader reckoning in higher education regarding donors with ties to Epstein, who cultivated an extensive network of powerful figures in business, arts and academia before his 2019 death in federal custody. The associates whose names appear on buildings were typically major donors and alumni who gave tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to their respective institutions.

Universities are navigating complex ethical and financial considerations as they review naming requests through formal processes. Museum ethics expert Anne Bergeron described this as "a moment of reckoning" for universities, noting that younger generations have "virtually no tolerance for being associated with anyone who doesn't represent the best of humanity." The situation parallels previous controversies over the Sackler family name on buildings following their role in the opioid crisis.