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It occurred to me that some readers of this blog may not be aware of The Case for a Name Change. This is the university's position paper the outlines the reasons for pursuing a name change. If you haven't had a chance to review this paper yet, please do.
Since posting last Thursday's media advisory about the proposed name change, this blog has received 80-plus comments. Most of them have come from alumni and current students, and most of them have expressed opposition to either a.) changing the university's name at all, for any reason, or b.) the choice of Missouri University of Science and Technology, or Missouri S&T (or MUST, as some doggedly insist on calling it). This is not surprising, as public forums like this one typically draw their share of opponents and dissenters. That's the beauty of this type of communications medium: it gives people an outlet through which to express their views.
A few commenters have also veered off into discussing the issues related to marketing a new name. More about that in a future post.
Overlooked in this wave of comments opposed to the proposed name or the concept of changing the name are some posts from those who actually agree with the direction the university and Chancellor John F. Carney III are headed. Here are some of those comments, and excerpts from some others:
From Bruce Thompson:I know change is hard to accept, especially one this significant.
Again, from an out of Missouri perspective, I think this is a good long term change.
I am tired of UMR being the "best kept secret" school of the Midwest. The current name DOES portray a regional branch campus to the general public. It would take a larger marketing budget than any university could dream of to ever beat that fact. ...
It takes a great leader to address the real white elephants that inhibit an institution's success. We have been blessed with back to back Chancellors willing to make the dynamic moves that are moving the university to the greatness it has deserved.
I am counting our blessings of solid leadership. I am also excited about the change to Missouri S&T.
***
From Brian Johnson:
So, the 100th Annual St. Pat's could potentially be the first ever St. Pat's at Missouri S&T... Was this timing intentional? Is it the Chancellor's plan to leverage this large event to launch the two month old name into the hearts and minds of thousands of returning MSM/UMR alumni?
***
From Jeff:
Well I think it's a great idea and should have been done long ago. Face it, UMR has stagnated for the last 30 years. It is known in some engineering circles in the midwest but that's it. This could be the first step to a true national recognition of the University. Bravo Chancellor Carney for not being satisfied with the status quo!
***
From Bob Stevens, ChE'81:For those who wonder why we need to change the name, consider the following encounter:
Last week I was speaking with a long-time engineering manager who has spent his entire career in the Pacific Northwest, where I currently work.
He asked where I went to college. I said, "University of Missouri - Rolla". He said where? I repeated.
He said, "Oh, you must have had to travel to Mizzou to take your engineering courses, then." I said, "No, Rolla has a much larger engineering program than Mizzou. It is also ranked better, nationally."
He said, "Your kidding! I've never heard of it. I thought it sounded like a branch campus."
In US News & World Reports, annual survey (of Presidents, Provosts, and Deans of Admission of the top 500 national universities) the results UMR's Academic Reputation are similar to that of the regional universites around the state (a/k/a the old "teacher's colleges".)
You and I know of UMR's graduates caliber.
Unfortunately, if someone has not encountered a graduate directly, the name is the perception, and perception is reality.
As the former chair of the benchmarking team for the CDC during the 1990's, I speak from a decade of understanding. This is a problem that only can be solved by a new name.
I strongly support a new name.
This corrects the profoundly serious mistake that was made in 1964 when MSM was change to UMR.
***
From one of our most frequent commenters, Pradip Shah:
Many alumni including me have expressed their opinions (mostly apprehensions) about changing the name of UMR. Now that new name (Missouri University of Science and Technology -- or Missouri S&T for short) is almost a given, we as an alumni need to support wholeheartedly. The onus is now on the marketing team in disseminating not only the new name to all the industries, govt. agencies, academic institutions all round the US and the world at large, but also the strengths of the school & what the school stands for. The marketing team will do well in focusing the northeast and the west coast locations. ...
(See complete comment.)
***
Another from Bruce Thompson:
Changing the name still feels wierd, but it is very exciting --- AND NEEDED.
It is so frustrating always explaining that that UMR is not MIZZOU or it's little feeder campus.
I think they found a good name. I hope the Curators approve it.
***
From Missy Leone:
Hey Andrew, I think it's difficult for anyone, especially engineers, to accept change with something they have an intimate relationship with.
That said, as much as I would've loved to go back to MSM, I guess MST will have to do. The fact that we will now officially be known as a technology university is great. It's about time.
Good luck with the trolls.
***
John Sewester (responding to a commenter who thinks "engineering" should be in the new name):"
... Somehow the "Massachusetts Institute of Engineering" just does not seem to have the same ring. Tech has helped a lot schools prosper and offer broader curriculum and research areas. You cant argue that the general public confuses Cal Tech, RPI, Stephens Tech, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Texas Tech, IIT, etc with vocational schools.
Change is always difficult. Based on my personal experience and after reviewing the data, a change was probably appropriate. Missouri S&T is okay with me.
***
From Jared Ware:
As I stated in my original comments: "I am not opposed to change, but the change has to be tied to a long-term vision, achievable and measurable objectives, and still maintain the university's stellar intellectual reputation." The Chancellor, as the leader, has made his decision and we as alumni should wholeheartedly support it. However, as with all leaders, he will be held accountable and we as alumni must track overall progress. If the name change succeeds in vision and mission, then buy the Chancellor a pint of green beer at a future St. Pat's event. If the name change flops, then we can look at the statistics and draw conclusions on another course of action in the future.
***
From Keith:
I would be be in favor to changing the name to either:
1) Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (MSM)
or
2) Missouri School of Mines and Engineering (MSME)
or
3) Any other name which serves the University well. Lets not down play the University with a sub-par name. Much thought needs to be given to a name to suit the University well.
***
From Jian:
"Missouri University of Science and Technology" is Great!! ... But why not M.U.S.T. or MUST.edu?
M.U.S.T. seems a lot more obvious and appealing than "Missouri S&T" or "MST" - just imagine we are supporting our athletes or trying to talk to our neighbors. What do you think?
M.U.S.T. would also potentially save much of the marketing campaign money... the catchy name itself would attract millions of news!!
Go MUST.edu !!
***
From Richard Starke, '71:
... I think a name change to differentiate it from UMC might be in order. Of course it might be a plot to get me to buy a new T-shirt.
For those posters who haven't bothered to read the FAQ:
What name is being proposed?That is all.Missouri University of Science and Technology
How will it be abbreviated?
Missouri S&T is the preferred abbreviation. "MST" is also acceptable.
March 23, 2007
What is the purpose of this blog?
UMR launched the Name Change Conversations blog as part of an effort to provide UMR alumni, students, faculty, staff and others with another opportunity to provide input on a proposed name change. In addition to providing a forum for discussion, this blog also serves as a means for the university to provide information about the name change proposal and process to those interested.
Why consider a name change for UMR?
The University of Missouri-Rolla is unique among the four University of Missouri campuses because of its mission to serve as a technological research university. Yet the university's name does not reflect the campus' distinctive nature.
A more distinctive name may afford UMR several advantages in recruiting students on a national level. While UMR is well known in the Midwest for its academic excellence, it is less well known on a national scale.
UMR Chancellor John F. Carney III has set a goal to make UMR one of the nation's top five technological research universities. Many of UMR’s "competitors" for that position have names that better reflect their mission. (For example: California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.)
What is a "technological research university"?
UMR has defined a technological research university as one in which:
1.) at least one-fourth of the student body major in engineering
2.) a majority of students are enrolled in the study of engineering, the sciences, business or mathematics;
3.) a robust graduate program exists in each of those fields;
4.) a strong research culture exists within the university; and
5.) exceptional liberal arts, humanities and social sciences degree programs thrive so as to complement and lend context to the technological strengths of the university.
What name is being proposed?
Missouri University of Science and Technology
How will it be abbreviated?
Missouri S&T is the preferred abbreviation. "MST" is also acceptable. "Missouri S&T" is the official abbreviation or nickname. Either the full university name or the nickname will be used on all official university materials, such as stationery, business cards, marketing materials and apparel.
What other names were considered?
Among the other names considered were:
“Missouri S&T” best identifies our unique mission and traditional strengths in science and technology.
Based on the results of our market research, UMR proposed a name that resonates more with prospective students and high school counselors and that will allow UMR to better recruit students nationally.
The S&T title is well recognized among some of the top international technological research universities.
What UMR groups support the name change proposal?
The proposal has received the unanimous support of the UMR Board of Trustees.
Other organizations to endorse the proposal include:
The UMR Academy of Engineering Management
The UMR Academy of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineers
The UMR Corporate Development Council
The School of Management and Information Systems Advisory Council
The School of Management and Information Systems Executive Committee
The UMR Order of the Golden Shillelagh (OGS) Executive Committee
The UMR Enrollment Development Team
The UMR Recruitment Committee
When will the name change take effect?
If approved by the UM System Board of Curators, UMR proposes that the name change take effect Jan. 1, 2008
What input have students, alumni, faculty, staff and others had on the process?
Throughout the process, the university has tried to reach out to various constituencies.
Public forums were held with current students, faculty, staff and alumni during the fall semester. Chancellor Carney also consulted key alumni, community leaders and legislators.
An alumni survey appeared in the Winter 2006 issue of the quarterly alumni magazine, UMR Magazine. Results were compiled in January 2007.
Faculty, staff and current students were surveyed electronically in late January and early February 2007. The results were compiled in February 2007.
In early February 2007, UMR contracted with consulting firm SimpsonScarborough to perform market research. Preliminary information was provided to university officials on March 12. The final report was sent March 22, 2007. SimpsonScarborough surveyed community leaders, corporate recruiters, prospective students and high school guidance counselors.
In addition to the formal research and surveys, the university gathered input informally through email, letters and comments posted on the Name Change Conversations weblog (namechange.mst.edu).
Based on the research results and additional input from various groups, Chancellor Carney submitted a proposal to the UM System Board of Curators, which will take up the issue at its meeting on April 5-6, 2007.
What are the research results?
A majority of alumni, faculty, staff and graduate students believe a name other than UMR would best describe the university, while a majority of current students believe the current name best describes the university. Details are provided in the post Survey results at a glance.
In addition, research conducted for UMR by SimpsonScarborough indicates that a majority of prospective students, guidance counselors, corporate recruiters and community leaders believe Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is the most appealing name for the university. These groups all also cited University of Missouri-Rolla as the least appealing name.
Will the name of the alumni association change?
This is an issue to be decided by the MSM-UMR Alumni Association board of directors.
Is this name change part of the campus reorganization plan that is resulting in the elimination of the schools and college?
The name change discussion is a separate issue.
Who must approve the name change?
The University of Missouri Board of Curators must approve a name change. The Board will vote on the proposed name change at its April 5-6 meeting in Rolla.
Will the Coordinating Board for Higher Education, the legislature, or any other governing bodies be required to approve a name change?
The only required approval for a name change comes from the University of Missouri Board of Curators, as provided for in the Missouri Constitution, Article IX, Section 9(a).
Will the university still be part of the four-campus University of Missouri?
Yes. The campus intends to remain the technological research campus of the University of Missouri.
How much will it cost to convert signage, publicity materials, etc., to a new name?
Estimates of other Missouri institutions that have undergone name changes range from $200,000 to $250,000. Initial estimates place the cost at approximately $100,000 in one-time expenditures. Some expenses, such as new signage, publications and uniforms, are already budgeted and therefore are not included in this estimate.
Timeline: UMR’s evolution from MSM
1870 – The campus was established as the University of Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy. It soon became known as MSM, or the Missouri School of Mines. When the first class was called to order on Nov. 6, 1871, the campus offered degrees in mining engineering, metallurgical engineering, civil engineering (etc) as well as supporting programs in mathematics, chemistry and the natural sciences. MSM was the second campus of the University of Missouri and the first technological school west of the Mississippi River.
1964 – The University of Missouri expanded into a four-campus system to include campuses in Kansas City and St. Louis. The University of Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy was renamed the University of Missouri at Rolla.
1968 – The University of Missouri at Rolla became known as the University of Missouri-Rolla.
2006 – In his second State of the University Address since arriving on campus, UMR Chancellor John F. Carney III announces that he wants the campus community, alumni and other supporters of the university to "enter into a discussion" about the benefits and disadvantages of changing the University of Missouri-Rolla's name to something that better reflects the campus' role as a technological research university.
Historical information taken from UM-Rolla: A History of MSM/UMR, by Lawrence O. Christensen and Jack B. Ridley (Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Printing Services, 1983). Christensen and Ridley are Curators’ Teaching Professors emeritus of history at UMR.
Chancellor Carney's announcement of the proposed name change for UMR to Missouri S&T went off quite well. It was well attended by students, faculty, staff and the media. The announcement is getting pretty good media coverage for a Friday, too (see links below).
For those who missed it, you can view the video (Windows Media Player required) and see for yourself. You can also listen to an mp3 of the news conference or read the chancellor's prepared remarks on this blog.
Chancellor John F. Carney III today announced that he is asking the University of Missouri Board of Curators to approve changing the institution’s name to Missouri University of Science and Technology – or Missouri S&T for short.
The request follows more than six months of research and discussion with numerous UMR constituents, including alumni, students, prospective students, faculty, staff, corporate recruiters and community leaders. The new name, if approved by the board, would be effective Jan. 1, 2008.
Carney says the name change will help the institution have a stronger identity while remaining a part of the four-campus University of Missouri.
“Missouri S&T will better define the university as a leading technological research university,” Carney says. “We believe the new name will help to differentiate this university in a highly competitive university market and provide a national competitive advantage.”
Full news release online at news.mst.edu/2007/namechange.html.
The full text of Chancellor Carney's remarks follow.
Chancellor John F. Carney's remarks from his March 23, 2007, news conference announcing his proposal for a new name for UMR
Good morning.
Thank you for your attendance.
Last Oct. 9, as part of my State of the University Address, and with the unanimous support and encouragement of the UMR Board of Trustees, I proposed that the University community engage in a discussion concerning a possible change in the University’s name from the University of Missouri-Rolla to a name that better reflects UMR’s mission as one of the nation’s top national technological research universities.
UMR is unique among the four University of Missouri campuses because of our focus on technology, science, and engineering. Our goal is to be recognized an one of the top five technological universities in the United States. In that State of the University address last fall, I postulated that this worthy goal will be difficult to achieve with a name that gives the impression, outside of Missouri, that we are a branch campus with a regional mission.
For the last five and a half months, the UMR community has discussed this issue at great length. We have sought the input of our students, faculty, alumni, staff, and others. Public forums were held and key alumni and community leaders were consulted. In addition, we have conducted surveys with our alumni, faculty, staff, and students.
These survey results are summarized as follows:
The results of this phase of our research confirmed that changing our name to one that is more descriptive of our mission is the right thing to do. The next important question, of course, is:
What should the name be?
To zero in on that question, the university contracted with a higher education marketing firm to survey the opinions of corporate recruiters, community leaders, prospective students, and high school guidance/college counselors.
These in-depth survey results are compelling, and on Wednesday of this week I recommended to the University of Missouri System and our Board of Curators that we change our name to Missouri University of Science and Technology, or Missouri S&T for short.
The curators will consider this recommendation at their April 5-6 meeting here on the UMR campus. I am proposing that the name change become effective on Jan. 1, 2008.
The proposed name emphasizes the historic role that science and technology have played in the history of this university.
However, even as Missouri S&T is descriptive of our technological emphasis, it does not limit us to strictly engineering.
Like our nation’s other top technological research universities, we will continue to offer excellent academic programs in all of our offerings – including the liberal arts, the humanities, business, and management.
Technology and the liberal arts are not mutually exclusive. In fact, in a society increasingly dependent on technological advances, the need for humanistic education is more important than ever.
In addition, including S&T – science and technology – in our name positions us well as a university with a global perspective. We expect the name Missouri S&T to be well received in the global marketplace, where we will compete for the brightest international students against schools like Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, and similar universities.
These names may not mean much to us today, but the world is flat, and as global competition continues to heat up, we will compete with these schools – as we do now with Georgia Tech, MIT, Cal Tech, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and other national universities.
As many of the top organizational theorists have noted, some of the most successful institutions are ones that fully embrace and promote their core mission. We believe our proposed new name, in combination with the university’s other tactical initiatives, will do exactly that.
Our goal is to incorporate these strategic changes as a means to raise the university to the highest levels of success. Ultimately this will add value to our graduates’ degrees and help the University serve as a significant economic development engine for the State of Missouri and the nation.
Should the Board of Curators approve this recommendation, we will be better positioned to aggressively recruit new students on a national and international scale with a name that describes our distinctive mission.
We will continue to seek the financial support of our alumni and friends to help us attract the best faculty, build and sustain new laboratories and classroom facilities, and provide scholarships and other financial assistance—we must ensure that every student, regardless of economic background, has the opportunity for a world-class education at a world-class university.
We will continue to seek the support of the state of Missouri to provide the needed resources to help sustain us as a leading technological research university.
We have much work ahead of us. Over the coming months we will continue to engage our students, alumni, faculty and staff, the community, our state and federal legislators, corporate recruiters, research partners and others to position this university for greatness.
Thank you for your attention.
Update: Since this media advisory and an announcement to alumni went out, several comments this blog has received from alumni address information about the announcement. Since this is a public blog, those comments that reference topics to be addressed at the news conference will be posted after the news conference begins (after 11 a.m. CDT Friday, March 23). That is when this information will become publicly available.
The following media advisory was released by UMR Public Relations at 4 p.m. CDT Thursday, March 22, 2007:
Media advisory:
UMR chancellor to announce proposed name change
When: 11 a.m. Friday, March 23
Where: St. Pat’s Ballroom A, Havener Center
University of Missouri-Rolla campus
ROLLA, Mo. -- University of Missouri-Rolla Chancellor John F. Carney III will make an announcement related to a proposed change in the institution’s name during a news conference to be held at 11 a.m. Friday, March 23, in St. Pat’s Ballroom A in the Havener Center on the UMR campus.
Media interested in attending should contact the UMR office of public relations at 573-341-4328.
An online forum run by UMR students is abuzz with the rumor that a name change will be announced this coming Monday, March 26, which is also the first day of Spring Break. This is a rumor and nothing more. Any plans to change the name of UMR will be announced while students are on campus and classes are in session.
P.S. to "student@student.edu": In order for your comments to be published, you must include a valid email address.
Since the launch of this blog a month-plus ago, I've been keeping track of some of the more pertinent frequently asked questions and hope to have an FAQ posted on this site before St. Pat's. But until then, please refer to the inaugural post for information about the purpose of this site. In general, this site is designed to be:
We want to hear from you, so make your voice known in the comments section. All we ask is that you keep your comments focused on the topic, cordial and respectful in tone, and as brief as possible.Thanks for reading and contributing to the conversation.
Taking a look back on this blog's first 33 days of existence, we've received quite a bit of commentary from alumni, students and a few faculty members and administrative staff. In all, we've received 102 comments on 13 posts. (Those are the comments that have gone through. I'm not counting the spam or the more recent posts from a commenter who has been abusing the spirit of this forum by including bogus umr.edu email addresses in comments. To the poster in question: If you wish to be taken off the blocked list, email me at acareaga AT umr DOT edu.)
I've done a quick analysis of those comments and find the following:
Keep the comments coming.