Faculty back name change
Published Aug. 24, 2007
After Chancellor Brady Deaton addressed the Faculty Council on the proposal to change the name of MU to the University of Missouri, the council voted to submit a letter of support for the name change.
The For All We Call Mizzou national steering committee first proposed the change. For All We Call Mizzou is the university's national fundraising campaign.
"I certainly endorse it strongly," Deaton said. "This state needs to recognize that it only has one major research, land-grant university, and that's this university. The state is doing itself an injustice, and an injustice to its children and future generations if they project any other message, and unfortunately they have."
Deaton said the issue began to take on some new heat last year when the state legislature began to discuss the role of different universities. The steering committee also submitted a letter to Deaton in support of the change.
The committee submitted the letter after creating a video highlighting the university and the fact that they were concerned about saying "University of Missouri-Columbia."
Deaton said changing the name would also clear up confusion about whether or not the Columbia campus is the flagship university of the state.
"At national meetings if I have 'University of Missouri' everyone assumes I'm here," Deaton said.
But he said if he has the name "University of Missouri-Columbia" attached to him, he is "always asked" if that is the flagship university of the state.
Deaton said university's history is a reason for supporting the name change.
"It was the original name given by the citizens of the state when they argued for a university to be placed here in Columbia," Deaton said. "What generations of forefathers have vested in this university has not been vested in any other four-year university."
One of the concerns discussed in the council was the regional impact the name change would have on the state. Committee member Michael Diamond said changing the name of the campus could help to end a sense of regionalism that is felt around the state.
"If there were a university that transcends all that, then maybe we'll drive in a different direction a little bit," he said
Deaton said changing the name would not have an impact on the other regional campuses. He said this would help the state in terms of social relationships as well as make an economic impact.
"I would argue that every campus in the University of Missouri system would be enhanced if we simply have the name 'University of Missouri,'" Deaton said.
Deaton said the other four-year universities in the system, "aren't that distinguished from time to time today."
Deaton said the overall response has been mostly positive.
The faculty council added their approval, and agreed to submit a letter in support of the name change to the UM system Board of Curators after a brief discussion.
The letter that was approved was changed and shortened slightly so that the letter, in the presence of a hostile audience, would not come across as stating that the Columbia campus is better than the other regional campuses in the UM system.