A reminder to all UMR faculty and staff:

Departmental inventories of items that will need to be changed or modified before the university’s name change takes effect are due to Chancellor Carney's office by May 1. Please use this Excel form to list items. It is recommended that departments submit completed checklists to their division vice chancellor, the provost, or the school/college dean no later than this Friday, April 27, in order to ensure that all division heads and deans submit the completed information to the chancellor by May 1.

Examples of items that may need to be replaced are listed below.

Name-change-related items that should be included on the checklist:

• Signage (facility, vehicle, directional)

• Uniforms and other required, official University apparel

• Ink stamps

• Recruitment displays, table drapes, and banners

• Maps

• Name tags

• Awards, pins, and medallions

• Promotional items

• Specific name-change-related communications to external entities such as alumni, donors, professional organizations, accreditation agencies, etc. (Please do not include periodic communications your unit already regularly distributes to these entities – only include unique communications you feel will be required specifically for notification of the name change.)

• Letterhead

• Envelopes

• Business cards

• Forms

• Memo pads

• Publications

• Brochures

• Folders

• Items for resale by University auxiliaries

  (You do not need to list all of the University-hosted web pages or email accounts that will require modification. These items are already on the Master List.)

Posted by Andrew Careaga at 01:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Frequently Asked Questions document update includes information about the Brand Identity Team.

Posted by Andrew Careaga at 05:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

UMR Chancellor John f. Carney III has appointed a brand identity team to assist the campus with the name change implementation.

The Brand Identity Team will serve as an ad hoc advisory and tactical group responsible for ensuring a smooth transition from the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) to Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T), a transition which will formally occur on Jan. 1, 2008.

Team responsibilities:

• Review and evaluate responses to the informal request for proposals (RFP) for branding and identity services. This includes conducting reference checks, when applicable.

• Award contract for brand identity services.

• Provide all relevant information, data, research findings, existing materials, customer expertise and other information for consultant’s background and use in preparing brand identity concepts and materials.

• Develop a master list of all required changes, all actions necessary to implement changes, all cost estimates, assign funding sources, and develop and communicate to various constituents the timeline for implementation.

• Guide and direct branding/identity consultant in developing internal and external marketing and brand rollout strategies.

• Act as liaison between consultant and the campus community in gathering input from internal constituents.

Team members and responsibilities/areas of expertise:

• Chancellor John F. Carney III (ex officio)
  
• Ron Miller, past president, UMR Board of Trustees, and Vice President/General Manager (retired), the Procter & Gamble Company (ex-officio)
  
• Andrew Careaga, director of communications (chair)
  
• Rebecca Frisbee, publications (graphic identity)
  
• Cheryl McKay, electronic marketing (web and e-marketing)
  
• Mary Helen Stoltz, public relations (media relations, editorial style)
  
• Tom Shipley, video communications (video)
  
• Connie Eggert, Vice Chancellor of University Advancement (university marketing, fundraising)
  
• Jay Goff, Dean of Enrollment Management (recruitment)
  
• Marianne Ward, Acting Executive Director, MSM-UMR Alumni Association (alumni relations)
  
• Darlene Ramsay, President, MSM-UMR Alumni Association (alumni relations)
  
• Mark Mullin, Athletic Director (athletics, student recreation, student recruitment)
  
• Lynn Stichnote, Director of Admissions (student recruitment)
  
• Brian Buege, Interim CIO (web, online communications, telecommunications)
  
• Jesse Singleton, Printing Services (printing/templates)
  
• Ted Ruth, Physical Facilities (signage)
  
• Lauren Huchingson, President, Student Council (student relations)
  
• Beth Groenke, President-elect, Student Council (student relations)
  
• Raj Kanwar Singh, President-elect, Council of Graduate Students (student relations)
  
• Kurt Kosbar, Academic Council (faculty relations)
  
• Kim Frazier, Staff Council (staff relations, UMR Bookstore)
  
• Mark Potrafka, Student Affairs (student life)
  
• Lance Gentry, Assistant Professor of Business (marketing)
  
• Randy Stoll, Director of Business Services (business services, administrative services)

The UMR Communications Staff will assist the committee in the areas of:

• Developing branding/graphic identity concepts
  
• Developing a plan to promote the name change to internal and external audiences
  
• Recruitment marketing
  
• Staff support

• Release of RFP for brand identity/marketing services -- April 9, 2007
  
• Request “name change checklist” items from campus -- April 11, 2007
  
• Establish Brand Identity Team to coordinate transition and brand identity -- April 13, 2007
  
• Deadline for written questions from RFP respondents -- April 20, 2007
  
• RFP responses due -- April 23, 2007 (5 p.m. CDT)
  
• Review of RFP responses -- April 23-27, 2007
  
• Contract award (on or about) -- April 30, 2007
  
• Name change checklists due -- May 1, 2007
  
• Branding consultant meeting with committee -- between May 1-May 7
  
• Development of brand concepts for testing -- May 1-July 31
  
• Develop master list of needed changes -- May 21
  
• Brand concept testing -- complete by Aug. 31
  
• On-site presentation of concept testing results and final brand concepts -- Sept. 15
  
• Development and delivery of final identity materials, including graphic and web templates, brand identity and style manuals, UMR Magazine cover template -- Oct. 31
  
• Development of internal marketing/rollout strategy (to be carried out Nov.1-Dec. 31) -- Oct. 15
  
• Execution of internal marketing/rollout plan -- Nov. 1-Dec. 31
  
• Development of external marketing strategy -- by Nov. 30
  
• Name change takes affect -- Jan. 1, 2008

Posted by Andrew Careaga at 01:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Version 2: updated April 13, 2007 (new information about the brand identity coordination)
Hyperlinked questions added April 10, 2007
Version 2: updated April 9, 2007

Questions and answers viewable in the extended entry, below.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of this blog?
What will be the new name for the university?
How will it be abbreviated? When will the name change take effect?
How were the name and effective date determined?
What will be the web/email domain name for the university?
Will the umr.edu domain name still be in use during the transition time?
How will the university's graphic identity, logo, etc., be coordinated?
Why did the university consider a name change for UMR?
What is a "technological research university"?
What other names were considered?
Why was Missouri S&T proposed?
What UMR groups supported the name change proposal?
What input have students, alumni, faculty, staff and others had on the process?
What are the research results?
Will the name of the alumni association change?
Is the name change part of the campus reorganization plan that is resulting in the elimination of the schools and college?
Will alumni be able to obtain diplomas that display the new name?
Will the university still be part of the four-campus University of Missouri?
Will the university continue to offer non-engineering and non-science degrees, such as degrees in the liberal arts, humanities and business?
How much will it cost to convert signage, publicity materials, etc., to a new name?
Timeline: UMR’s evolution from MSM

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. From the date of its launch until soon after the University of Missouri Board of Curators approved the name change on April 6, 2007, this blog served as a forum for discussing the proposal and as a means for the university to provide information about the name change proposal and process to those interested. (See Welcome to the conversation for information on the blog's original intent.) Since approval of the name change, however, this blog's focus is on sharing information about how the university will implement the name change by Jan. 1, 2008.

Back to FAQ

What will be the new name for the university?

Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Back to FAQ

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.

Back to FAQ

When will the name change take effect?

The new name will take effect on Jan. 1, 2008.

Back to FAQ

How were the name and effective date determined?

Chancellor John F. Carney III proposed the name to the Board of Curators in March 2007 and announced the proposed name during a March 23, 2007, press conference on the UMR campus. The Board of Curators voted on the proposal at the board's April 5-6, 2007, meeting in Rolla, and unanimously approved the recommendation.

Back to FAQ

What will be the web/email domain name for the university?

The university has applied for permission to use "mst.edu" as the domain name.

Back to FAQ

Will the umr.edu domain name still be in use during the transition time?

Yes. The umr.edu domain name will be in effect until the new name takes effect in January 2008.

Back to FAQ

How will the university's graphic identity, logo, etc., be coordinated?

A Brand Identity Team will coordinate the work related to developing a new brand identity.

Back to FAQ

Why did the university 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.)

Back to FAQ

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.

Back to FAQ

What other names were considered?

Among the other names considered were:

• Missouri University of Science and Engineering
  
• University of Missouri Institute of Technology
  
• Missouri Science and Technology University
  
• Missouri Science and Engineering University
  
• Missouri Institute of Technology
  
• Missouri Technological University
  
• Missouri Polytechnic University
  
• Technological University of Missouri
  
• University of Missouri-Rolla

Why was Missouri S&T proposed?

“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.

Back to FAQ

What UMR groups supported 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

Back to FAQ

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.

Back to FAQ

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.

Back to FAQ

Will the name of the alumni association change?

This is an issue to be decided by the MSM-UMR Alumni Association board of directors.

Back to FAQ

Is the 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.

Back to FAQ

Will alumni be able to obtain diplomas that display the new name?

We've received a number of requests from alumni who would like to have Missouri S&T diplomas. We hope to be able to offer new diplomas but still have some details to work out. Stay tuned.

Back to FAQ

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.

Back to FAQ

Will the university continue to offer non-engineering and non-science degrees, such as degrees in the liberal arts, humanities and business?

Yes. The university plans to continue to offer all of its current degrees, including those in the liberal arts, humanities, social sciences and humanities. As Chancellor John F. Carney III publicly stated in one presentation to the University of Missouri Board of Curators: “These are critically important areas for our university. It’s simply not correct to think that a technological research university should not have a strong, vibrant psychology department. We have no intent of marginalizing any of those departments.”

Back to FAQ

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.

Back to FAQ

>Timeline: UMR’s evolution from MSM

2007 - On March 23, 2007, Chancellor Carney proposes changing the name of the University of Missouri-Rolla to Missouri University of Science and Technology, or Missouri S&T for short. On April 6, 2007, the University of Missouri Board of Curators approved the new name for the university, effective Jan. 1, 2008.

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.

Back to FAQ

Posted by Andrew Careaga at 05:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Now that the decision has been made to change the name from the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) to Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T), this weblog's focus will change from its original purpose of offering alumni, students and others a forum for discussing the name change proposal. From here on out, the focus of this weblog will be to:

• provide information about the process to implement the name change, and

• provide readers an opportunity to offer feedback and input about the implementation

Very soon, we'll post a revised FAQ to better define this blog's revised purpose and to provide more information about the process the university will use to implement the name change by Jan. 1, 2008.

Posted by Andrew Careaga at 04:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (0)

The University of Missouri Board of Curators just voted -- unanimously -- to approve the plan to change the name from the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) to Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T), effective Jan. 1, 2008. The name change is now official.

Here's the official news release from the university, to be posted on UMR News and Research.

Curators approve UMR name change

ROLLA, Mo. – The University of Missouri-Rolla will become Missouri University of Science and Technology – or “Missouri S&T” – under a proposal approved today by the University of Missouri Board of Curators.

The curators approved a recommendation from UMR Chancellor John F. Carney III today (April 6, 2007) during their meeting on the Rolla campus.

“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.”

The decision 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.

Carney says the name change will help the institution have a stronger identity while remaining a part of the four campus University of Missouri.

Carney first raised the name change issue during his State of the University Address to the campus community last October. UMR’s current appellation does not distinguish the campus as one focused on engineering, technology and science, he said.

Soon after he joined UMR in September 2005, Carney set a goal of making UMR one of the nation’s top five technological research universities by 2010. While UMR’s marketing materials already carry the tagline of “Missouri’s premier technological research university,” the institution is not as well known as it deserves to be in other parts of the United States, Carney says.

“The University of Missouri Rolla is unique among the four University of Missouri campuses because of our focus as a technological research university,” Carney says. “We believe a more distinctive name would afford UMR several advantages in recruiting students on a national level.”

The name change takes effect Jan. 1.

The university was founded in 1870 as the University of Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy. It was informally known as the Missouri School of Mines, or MSM, until 1964, when it was renamed the University of Missouri at Rolla. The campus became known as the University of Missouri Rolla in 1968.

Alumni, students and others have been discussing the proposal on Name Change Conversations, a weblog the university created to foster communication about the proposal. The blog is online at http://namechange.mst.edu.

Posted by Andrew Careaga at 04:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (29) | TrackBacks (0)

The External Affairs Committee of the University of Missouri Board of Curators voted today (Thursday, April 5, 2007) to endorse the proposal to change the name of the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) to Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). The proposal now goes before the entire Board of Curators, which will consider the proposal tomorrow (Friday, April 6, 2007).

Today's vote was a committee vote, which means the External Affairs Committee recommends that the full board approve the proposed name change.

Today, UMR Chancellor John F. Carney III presented the case for the name change in a fashion similar to his presentation at the March 23 press conference announcement -- i.e., he discussed the research results and shared the process used to conclude that Missouri University of Science and Technology should be the university's new name.

After Carney's presentation, Curator Marion Cairns, who chairs the External Affairs Committee, asked about how the university plans to address concerns of students who are not science or engineering majors. Carney replied that UMR's humanities, liberal arts and other non-engineering/non-science disciplines will continue to be an important part of the university. He added that the university has recently invested more funding into these departments. “These are critically important areas for our university," Carney said. "It’s simply not correct to think that a technological research university should not have a strong, vibrant psychology department. We have no intent of marginalizing any of those departments.”

Curator and committee member Doug Russell noted that many alumni and community leaders he’s heard from "overwhelmingly" support the name change, but asked Carney to discuss what concerns students may have about the proposal.

Carney pointed out that younger alumni also were less inclined to favor a name change. “The older you were, the more in favor of a name change you were. … If you graduated a few years ago you were less enthusiastic about a name change.” He added that 77 percent of undergraduate students are from Missouri, and that UMR is well known within the state.

Carney added that the name change is "no silver bullet" for increasing enrollment on a national scale. “We need to do a better job of marketing and branding this institution," he said, "and we intend to do that. But our current name is a hindrance.”

Posted by Andrew Careaga at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBacks (0)

The following media advisory has been released to the news media:

A proposal to change the name of the University of Missouri-Rolla to Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) will be considered by the University of Missouri Board of Curators during the board’s meeting this week on the Rolla campus.

The curators meet Wednesday, April 4, through Friday, April 6, on the UMR campus.

The curators will consider UMR Chancellor John F. Carney III’s proposal to change the university’s name to Missouri S&T. In announcing the proposed name on March 23, Carney said the name change will strengthen the institution’s identity. The Rolla campus would remain a part of the four-campus University of Missouri.

“The University of Missouri-Rolla is unique among the four University of Missouri campuses because of our focus as a technological research university,” Carney says. “We believe a more distinctive name would afford UMR several advantages in recruiting students on a national level.”

The curators will discuss the name change proposal first during a meeting of the External Affairs Committee. That committee meets from 1-2:30 p.m. Thursday, April 5, in St. Pat’s Ballroom B&C. The External Affairs Committee will then report its recommendations on the proposal during the Board of Curators meeting, which begins at 9 a.m. Friday, April 6.

Another UMR-related item on the curators’ agenda is a proposal to designate a research park on the current UMR Golf Course property located on 10th Street, immediately west of UMR’s Allgood-Bailey Stadium.

Posted by Andrew Careaga at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)