UConn Health, part of the University of Connecticut system, has removed signage on its Farmington campus that recognized donations made by Purdue Pharma co-founder Raymond Sackler (who died in 2017) and his wife, Beverly (who died in 2019), the Middletown Press reports.

The removal of signage from the medical school and clinical and medical research center follows the settlement in March 2022 of the State of Connecticut’s lawsuit against Purdue, the maker of OxyContin, and the Sackler family, who own the company, for their role in exacerbating the opioid crisis in the state and nationwide. According to the university, between 1985 and 2014, UConn received gifts totaling approximately $4.5 million from the couple. Their contributions included $3.1 million to the School of Medicine and $1.2 million to the School of Fine Arts.

The university has temporarily frozen remaining assets associated with the Sackler gifts, including endowments to fund research, programming, student scholarships, and faculty support and, following a review process, plans to redirect the funds back to those areas, “but without the Sackler name attached.”

“The Sackler family amassed its wealth off the pain and suffering of thousands of Connecticut families, and it’s appropriate that their name be scrubbed from the walls of our public institutions,” said Connecticut attorney general William Tong. “The important research taking place inside the labs at UConn Health should not be tarnished by the shameful legacy of the Sackler name.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Ragesoss)