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11 Aug 2009 10:55am | Posted by WCBI News Director | News Director Blog
Is the Name Really the Tradition?
Rarely do I feel the need to comment on hot topics we cover in the news room. Actually, I don't even want to comment on topics that aren't considered "hot."
But, I've gotta tell ya...this MUW name change thing has grabbed my attention.
I get the tradition; I don't believe any school, whether it's an elementary school, middle or junior high school, high school or college or university doesn't have tradition. And that tradition carries on for generations, no matter how many name changes occur.
There's this institution of higher learning in Tennessee with which you may be familiar - in the academic world it's known as the University of Tennessee. In sports, Tennessee. I just call it "UT." And, WOW! Talk about your tradition? This thing goes back to 1794! That's just 18 years after we declared our independence from oppressive British rule, and kicked the Redcoats back across the Atlantic.
Here's a little blurb I picked up from Wikipedia about the founding of the University of Tennessee, which, by the way, wasn't called the University of Tennessee until the fourth try at a name.
"On September 10, 1794, two years before Tennessee became a state and at a meeting of the legislature of the Southwest Territory at Knoxville, the University of Tennessee was chartered as Blount College. The new, all-male, non-sectarian institution struggled for 13 years with a small student body and faculty, and in 1807, the school was renamed East Tennessee College. When its first president and only faculty member died in 1809, the school was temporarily closed until 1820, and in 1840 was elevated to "East Tennessee University." The school's status as a religiously non-affiliated institution of higher learning was unusual for the period of time in which it was chartered, and the school is generally recognized as the oldest such establishment of its kind west of the Appalachian Divide."
"After being ravaged by war, the University saw its fortunes change dramatically in 1862 with the passage of the Morrill Act by the United States Congress, although it was not until 1869 that the law's designation of the school as a Land-grant university became practical due to complications associated with the War and its aftermath. Federal funds and land were thus allocated to the University for the purposes of instructing students in military, agricultural, and mechanical subjects, and Trustees soon after approved the establishment of a medical program under the auspices of the Nashville School of Medicine and began the addition of advanced degree programs. In the same year, East Tennessee College was aptly renamed the University of Tennessee."
So, it took 75 years to come up with a name that finally stuck. So what? Were the students with diplomas from Blount College any less special than those receiving degrees from East Tennessee College, or East Tennessee University...or even the University of Tennessee?
I recently saw a letter to the editor suggesting that degrees earned from MUW would be "from a non-existent" entity if there was a name change.
Did we witness this turmoil in 1920 when the name was changed from Industrial Institute and College to Mississippi State College for Women? How about in 1974, when it changed again, this time to Mississippi University for Women? That name change came as all Mississippi's state colleges were designated universities.
The letter writer's logic would be that an MSCW graduate's degree is meaningless, since that institution "no longer exists." It would also mean, for the descendants of the graduates of II&C, that their forebearers' diplomas are worthless. And, I'll bet a lunch at the Cafe' that there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of graduates of the MSCW who are fighting this name change tooth and nail. Why? Your degrees clearly show you graduated from "Mississippi State College for Women" not "Mississippi University for Women."
It's just a name. We're still gonna call it the "W" anyway.
I'm just sayin'.
(These are my perceptions. They are not necessarily those of anyone else associated with the staff or management of WCBI, LLC)
Comments & Article Feedback:
12 Aug 2009 07:10 am | Posted by Walum82
 If you are still going to call it The W no matter what - why go through all this expense and controversy and use of valuable legislative time in order to change the name? This reinforces a growing movement to re-brand MUW rather than re-name it.
No business would change its name on the CEO's gut feeling that it should. Using women isn't accurate? AT&T is no longer a telegraph company and Coca Cola is no longer made with coca extract (cocaine). A name change is costly/resources are scarce; it loses goodwill and name recognition built over decades of success; it is not necessary.
Market MUW with its nickname "The W." It is gender neutral, it is known, it rallies all supporters to a shared cause and it's what everyone is going to keep calling it anyway. I'm just sayin... |
