Since the opinion of the alumni was ignored by the Chancellor, we must take our discourse to the next level. The link below provides a list of the names of the Missouri Board of Curators (only one of them is a UMR graduate). Please share your comments with them as well (of course, in a respectful tone - we don't need to be making enemies on this issue). Unfortunately, I can only find a group e-mail address for them, not individual addresses.

http://www.umsystem.edu/ums/curators/members/

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?

I am adamantly opposed to the name change as proposed. It is senseless in light of the progress the university has made under the UMR name. I vote NO on the change.

Jack Dimond

"Since the opinion of the alumni was ignored by the Chancellor,"

It was?

"As of Jan. 10, 2007, 955 alumni responded to the UMR Magazine survey, giving the survey a 2.2 percent response rate from the 43,000 alumni who receive the magazine. Of those respondents:

* 70.1 percent (or 669 of the 955 respondents) said a name other than UMR best described the university."

Sounds to me like this is what 70% of the alumni who bothered to offer an opinion wanted.

Unfortunately Jack Dimond, as far as the name change is concerned we have little to no say. It's all up to the Board of Curators now. Hopefully they'll be presented with more than just the one-sided skewed opinion that we were shown during the open forum for "discussion".

I have only been passively keeping up on this, but I got the notice today that the name change was announced, so I'll throw in my two cents. I don't understand the need for a new name. Changing the name will just get you a short increase in awareness due to the media coverage. Any marketing that would be done to get more out of state students should have been done even without a name change. I doubt if someone came up and said "We should call our beer company Anheuser-Busch" anyone would think that that was great name. It is because of the marketing that it is a brand known throughout the world. What really concerns me is that money and time is being wasted on this when it could be spent on providing a quality education to the students that have already decided to attend school in Rolla. I guess it really doesn't matter what they call it this time. Someone will probably want to change it again in 10 years when it keeps getting confused with Missouri State University.

Will it now be the MSM/UMR/MO-S&T alumni association? That is starting to become a mouthful.

I will say that most of the alumni I talked to didn't respond to the survey, including me, because they didn't think there was any way someone would think any of the options presented were any good. I guess we should have been more involved.

Last thing, don't bother sending me anything asking if I want a new diploma with the new name. I graduated from UMR and that's where I will have graduated from 50 years form now too, no matter if it exists still or not.

If, in my last semester here, I have to graduate with a degree that says Missouri S&T on it, I will be very distraught. I came to this campus to graduate with a UMR degree. The Chancellor underestimates UMR's name reputation. I've met people all over the country who know what UMR is. Why change it to something that doesn't even declare it's a mainly engineering campus? My degree is in neither science nor technology, and I'm sure very few people's is. It's in ENGINEERING. So to represent the campus as science and technology is ludacris. The Chancellor is trying to get on his high horse and change as much as he can so he'll go down in history as a great Chancellor. I vote NO on the proposed name change.

Brian,

Yes, our opinion was ignored. Yes, there was a pitiful response, and yes, 70% agreed that a different name would DESCRIBE the school better. Herein lies the misdirection of the survey: the survey did not ask what we WANTED. Despite that issue, of the names available to choose on the survey, these were the results:

Alumni Survey Results:
UMR 29.9%
MTU 14.7%
MUSE 14.0%
MSEU 13.3%
MUST 9.8%
MSM 7.0%
Other 11.2%

Note that Missouri S&T received less than a third of the votes as did UMR. This is the only results breakdown I have seen (current students' opinions were only presented as change/no change). What formula did the Chancellor use to determine that Missouri S&T was the best option?

Heh... a UMR degree. My degree says "University of Missouri" in big letters at the top. Buried in the little text below it mentions that my degree was "completed on the campus in the city of Rolla"

There is no UMR degree.

Hopefully, the chancellor’s calendar is screwed up and he though today was April 1st.

“MUST” (Missouri S&T)
Misr University for Science and Technology
Mongolian University of Science and technology
Malaysia University of Science and Technology
Macu University of Science and Technology
Minghsin University of Science and Technology

Where does UMR rate among those technology research universities?

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!

I sure hope they are not thinking http://www.must.edu is available, that name is being used by a school in Egypt! UMR has a great reputation, KEEP THE NAME.

Not at all impressed with the S & T. If they(he) had to have something different, I believe Missouri Tech would have worked better. Like the others state, I will always be a graduate of UMR Class of 71.

My vote: NO change. Obviously I should read all the UMR mail that I receive, because living in Wisconsin, this hasn't hit the local media. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't make a big difference in my life, but I am disappointed they are planning on changing it. I'd rather they go back to MSM than MST. I'm not even sure which school is Missouri University at this point. In addition, is the sample size representative of the population? If the percentages are so close in the student population, I say leave it.

Additional point: is there more staff actually at UMR than faculty or did they just ask more staff? Seems like we should have more teachers than support personnel... Might be an opportunity to improve efficiencies by eliminating some waste.

There is a projected benefit. Is there a plan to evaluate if the projected benefits materialize?

What about the projected costs? New signs, crests, letterheads, business cards etc.

Could it be the name change is a management drill to leave a new leaders mark on the entity?

Been there in industry.

John Keating
MSM, UMR, MUST '73

Woah hold on - is that the best we can do? Why not go all out and change the name to "Missouri University of Science and Technology AND Mines AND Metallurgy oh and now we have an MBA PROGRAM TOO - ROLLA"! And why not change our beloved Joe Miner while we're at it! Give him a foot long beard and a machine gun! Seriously, does our Chancellor have that much time on his hands that he can devote this much energy to foolish name change schemes? How about focusing on providing an affordable quality education?

No to the name change. Take a vote not a poll!

What? They didn't offer Missouri Institute of Technology as an option? There aren't any other MIT's are there?

But seriously, the proposed name is quite a mouthful. From a marketing standpoint, it is not succinct enough. I'm not saying UMR is a great name either, but it has the history and the word of mouth going for it.

As a current student at UMR I don't see the need or benefit of changing the name of our University. The question I want to ask is who does the name not appeal to or who is it not well known by? I will be the first to admit I didn't come to UMR because of the name. What I did come for is the fact that UMR is an engineering school and in the engineering field UMR is very well known and some of the best employers come to the University of Missouri-Rolla to look for their future employees. This isn't happening because UMR has a great name or really good advertisement, its happening because of the quality of our students and the ability of our professors are combined to create an outstanding education.

I guess what I am trying to say is changing our name to include science and technology isn’t going to change the history or prestige of an already excellent University in any positive way. So when I hear my newly appointed “Chancellor” saying the UMR name is not well known enough, it makes me wonder who is it not well enough for??? Sure, it may not be known by the cashier in the supermarket or the flight attendant who works out of Maine or even a high ranking university official that may have recently taken a new job with a new university, but in the field of engineering UMR has worked very hard to be recognized and is widely known.

Just a piece of my mind and oh yeah, a large sum of my money make me feel this way. As long as my degree has UMR printed on it and has nothing to do with this silly name change proposal then I guess everything I’ve said really doesn’t matter.

Clayton

In the answer in the FEQ on the extensive research conducted, you indicated that the preliminary SimpsonScarborough numbers were not available to university officials until March 21 and the final report was SENT (not received) March 22, 2007. Hence, the UMR administrators spent at most a day or so digesting this expensive information before determining that it implied that a name-change was warranted. Hopefully the Board of Curators will approach the issue more cautiously.
Also you note, under your 22 March post under “SO, WHY THE RUSH? AND ARE WE SEEKING PROFESSIONAL HELP?”, that UMR hired the consulting firm of SimpsonScarborough with private donations. Since UMR is a public Missouri institution, what do you mean by private money?

Roy:

I apologize for the FAQ error in the date of when preliminary data was available to the university. That date was March 12, not March 21.

Yes, UMR is a public university, but receives private donations from alumni and other donors. By "private money," I mean donations to the university, not tuition dollars, not tax dollars.

ALOHA In addition to my previous comments I mailed in about the name change in the correct direction I think it is a big mistake to change the name to MUST.
I think the name if changed should be changed to Missouri University of Science and ENGINEERING.
MUSE.
Those who are educated enough to know or look up the word MUSE in the dictionary will know MUSE refers to any and all nine daughters "each of whom presided over a different art or science." of the mythological Zeus(Greek name for the presider of Pantheon, ruler of heavens and father of all heroes and mortal heroes. "2.small m,muse refers to "The spirit or power regarded as inspiring and watching over poets, musicians and artists; A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION." Furthermore Engineering is both art and science as implied in the name here proposed. The word technology has devolved to mean something less than engineering. Please respond. ALOHA

DR. LOUIS R. FUKA, PHD ENGINEER

Missouri S&T?? Yeah right. What do you want to bet that folks start calling it MUST? ...or MUSTy.

Additionally, what's the alumni association going to be known as now: MSM/UMR/MUST?

MUST is such a sucky name that I'm sure it will get changed again in the future.

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.

'MUST'? You have got to be kidding. Who thought that gem up?

[It's 'Missouri S&T,' or 'MST.' - ed]

Can you just see the slogans?...

"Put your trust in MUST!"

"MUST or bust!"

Seriously, this whole idea is ridiculous. Personally, I don't even think the whole idea of a name change should even be on the table but that's just my personal opinion. The Chancellor and anybody else who thought this was a great idea needs a serious reality check.

I can look at it two different ways. The first way to paraphrase an old German who lived in the town of Potsdam, Missouri at the time the name was changed to Pershing, Missouri on account of World War I, "If my mail doesn't say Potsdam, I don't want it." On the other hand, I saw a bio of a Ceramic Engineering student, Lindell Rutherford class of 1971 who was East coast fighter pilot of the year in the 1980's and the CO of the Nuc. Powered Aircraft carrier George Washington and it read he got his degree from the University of Missouri, without mention of Rolla and when the Discover Channel? I think covered the solar powered car race, they said the Team to beat was the University of Missouri (who actually finished 8th the race before when Rolla finished 1st). [Slight correction: the University of Missouri-Columbia finished 8th; both UMC and UMR are University of Missouri campuses. - ed] Again there was no mention of the key word Rolla. For this reason, 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.

I'm only a freshman at UMR but I strongly opposed the name change as it stands right now. I can stomach Missouri Technical Institute, it's along the same likes as Texas Tech or Georgia Tech. Missouri S&T? No thanks. UMR has built up a reputation in engineering circles even outside of the midwest. I just don't like the idea at all, maybe it's because I don't like change, or maybe it's just the fact that I think Chancellor Carney is trying to get his name down in some inconsequential history book.

Dear Dr. Fuka:

I have forwarded your comments to Chancellor Carney, as you requested. The reason for choosing "technology" over "engineering" is because the latter is too narrow. "Technology" encompasses engineering, but also other fields, such as information systems, computer science, management of technology, etc. We believe that "technology," rather than meaning "something less than engineering," actually includes engineering and more.

Thank you for your thoughtful comments.

missouri university of science and technology is too much of a mouthful. plus saying i go to MUST is simply retarted.

Adam:

Repeat after me:

Missouri S&T

Missouri S&T

Missouri S&T...

I've spoken with lots of different people about the name change matter & I think I'm speaking for the majority of students when I say... The name the degree, the difference. Let's keep it that way. We came here to graduate from UMR, not "M.U.S.T."

So you want to get students from the east and west coast, eh? You are wondering why they've never heard of UMR? It seems to me that it's because you don't advertise to those regions. It doesn't matter if we're called University of Missouri - Rolla, Missouri University of Science & Technology or even Missouri Awesome School for Cool People; If they've never had the school name mentioned to them, they won't go to it. And as a student from New York, I'd have to say another reason why alot of prospective students from the coasts don't come is because Rolla is in the middle of nowhere. Nobody in their right mind would drive two to three days twice a year to go to this school having come from anywhere remotely urban/suburban. If you really want to get more people to come to the school, here's a sure-fire solution: Move the campus to Saint Louis. Either that, or change the name to not mention Rolla, Missouri, or even the midwest, and I will guarantee you will double the interest in this school.

...Or you could be sensible and lower tuition. That's the only reason why I'm here. When I started, it was more cost effective to come out here than to just go to a New York school. Now it's gotten to the point where it just isn't worth it except to finish my degree.

I'm appalled that UMR is considering changing its name to something that narrows the vision of the university. As a graduate of the English program, working as a technical writer for the past 15 years, many people have been surprised and pleased when they learn about my alma mater. Instead of wasting money on something this superficial, why not instead use it to promote the university's wonderful English program and draw more students to campus who want to work in the 13th best job to hold in America (Money magazine, 2006).

I think changing the name is an extremely bad idea.

We just went through a similar exercise here at Ford...abandoning the name "Ford Taurus" for "Ford Five Hundred"...what?!?

After 2 model years and millions in advertising, the new name has made no impression on buyers and we have abandoned that name, going back to the old reliable "Taurus".

UMR has excellent name recognition in Detroit and elsewhere. I would hate to see that thrown away.

It is not a name change that will make the school a top 5 school by 2010.

As others have stated here, my degree is a UMR degree and will always be.

A very candid opinion from Mark who hails from New York. While shifting the school from Rolla to St. Louise may not be feasible, his other pointers (many including me have commented on those) need to be heeded seriously by the administrators. I heard the Chancellor on the video and it is heartening to see him admitting that there is a global competition in the education sector. Hence, I would say that work locally, but think globally should become a magic mantra. Catering to the needs of a local region is understandable, but the school needs to come out of the Midwestern mold and establish itself as a thriving, vibrant, independent, internationally recognized institution. The officials of the UMR are on the front-line and I trust their conclusion that the current name has been a big impediment in recruiting the students. I hope that renaming of the school will have knocked down one of many hurdles that is obstructing the schools reputation. It is rather disappointing to see that only 14 news items have appeared related to the name change announcement and that too, mainly from the Missouri cities. There should come a time when anything major happening at the school, is captured not only by US media, but the world media, too. There lies a big challenge for the school and that to happen, all the parameters that have been talked about umpteen number of times on this blog, need a sweeping improvement.

This was posted today in my email account from Waste News...

"HyPower partners with university on flexible fuel research
April 3 -- HyPower Fuel Inc. is teaming with Middle Tennessee State University to jointly fund research into plug-in flexible fuel vehicles using hydrogen."

Middle Tennessee State...hmmm I don't see tech or engineering in their name...

:-) Just thought I would point that out.

I don't go to Missouri S&T, and frankly, in my mind I never will. I go to UMR. I know some people who say they go to Missouri State; they don't, they go to SMS.

It is a sad day for UMR, and all I can think of is the overwhelming feeling that Chancellor Carney has failed us.

Not only is http://must.edu the home page for a university in Egypt, it is the home page for the Misr University for Science and Technology, or MUST for short (a quote from their web page). Almost sounds like we stole the name from them. Heck, some people may think that Misr is an abbreviation for Missouri.

Scott - We were aware that www.must.edu was already taken. The new URL for Missouri S&T will http://www.mst.edu . I need to update the FAQ to reflect that.

I am a senior at UMR that hails from OHIO. Yes, it is true that I had not heard of UMR before I began receiving pamphlets in the mail. Why did I end up in Rolla when I'm from Ohio? When you visit the University you can tell that great people graduate from there. The faculty were all enthusiastic about their position and showing me their labs. The numerous hands-on clubs is something not many colleges offer. The chancellor says that there aren't enough out-of-state students because we don't know about UMR. If UMR did a better job advertising, we would know about it sooner. If UMR is not well known as a great engineering school, then why all the foreign transfer students? Why is the EE dept over 40% non-American?

I consider myself to be an informed student. I have attended quite a few of the open-forums held by Carney. I must say that I felt as though he wasn't listening to our concerns. During such a forum, a member of the Golden Shillelagh openly expressed his discontent with the name change, to which Carney told him to sit down. His replies to the students questions were all about the same. We need to change the name to become more nationally recognized, and kept referring to how much it helped Truman.

What UMR needs is better labs. I am an Aerospace Engineer, but have you ever seen the Chemistry labs? They are in desperate need of new equipment. Half of the sterile fume hoods don't work! The way to become better known is by improving the quality of the labs. UMR is an excellent engineering university. I wouldn't have come all the way from Ohio if I didn't think I was going to get a good education.

Changing the name isn't going to change the quality of education. It's still going to be an excellent engineering school. What it is doing, though, is taking money away from improving our facilities. That is why I am strongly opposed to the name change.

They (he) should have picked Missouri Tech, if anything. Look at Georgia Tech, Florida Tech, all engineering schools that are looked highly upon. We want the same thing here, right? Then lets change it to Missouri Tech!!!!

Shane - "Missouri Tech" was already taken. (See http://www.motech.edu/).

Being a current chapter advisor for a MSM-UMR-MST Fraternity, I still am very in touch with the 'real' views and opinions of the current students.

Being an alumni in St. Louis, I am still very in touch with the 'real' views of other alumni.

The name change was going to happen no matter what. With the media hype and slanted surveys stacked against any opposing opinion, the writing on the wall for "insert new name here" was foregone conclusion.

Now that the dust has settled, it is funny to see all the name change staff scramble to fix their broken choice. For instance, a guy named Daniel won't be called what his parents want him to be called, it is what his friends, peers and bosses call him. Dan, Danny, Danny-Boy, or Cooter, it all depends on them, not the one who made up the name. Now, its our turn. The MS&T/MST people are scrambling to keep us from calling it MUST! No! NO! Its not MUST, its MS&T, repeat it, know it, love it.

Ha Ha, the joke is on you Dr. Carney, now its MUST. Funny how not mentioning Engineering has backfired.

I have heard many alumni and current students propose MUSTARD: Missouri University of Science and Technology and Related Discplines. Ahh, the irony! GO MUSTARD!