Metropolitan State College of Denver officially changes name

[cranium]

My undergraduate alma mater went though this a few years ago - nobody outside of Pittsburgh knows what or where the hell "Indiana University of Pennsylvania" is, or that it's a rather large (>16,000) school. They toyed with going with "Western Pennsylvania University", which would have been great (except that instead of not knowing where I went, everyone around here would think that I went to school with a bunch of toothless, redneck racists) (oh wait... I did.)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (or IUPUI, or even "Ooey-Pooey") was supposed to have done this as well, but abandoned the idea for some reason.

The University of Indianapolis would have been perfect if Indiana Central hadn't beaten them to it.

----------------------------------

Agreed. I was ticked when they grabbed the name. But, it would have been awkward with all the historical (and administrative) ties to IU and Purdue (IU Med school being located there). IUPUI will always sound small time even though it is a very large school. Frankly, I liked the name Metros.

I would think that Denver State University would be the best option for Metropolitan, but the U. of Denver might not appreciate them muscling in on their name. U. of Central Colorado sounds like it is probably in a small town.

[Firefly]

Denver State. They can D-S-U! D-S-U!

[illwauk]

My undergraduate alma mater went though this a few years ago - nobody outside of Pittsburgh knows what or where the hell "Indiana University of Pennsylvania" is, or that it's a rather large (>16,000) school. They toyed with going with "Western Pennsylvania University", which would have been great (except that instead of not knowing where I went, everyone around here would think that I went to school with a bunch of toothless, redneck racists) (oh wait... I did.)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (or IUPUI, or even "Ooey-Pooey") was supposed to have done this as well, but abandoned the idea for some reason.

The University of Indianapolis would have been perfect if Indiana Central hadn't beaten them to it.

That's probably why they abandoned the idea. What else is there for them to change to besides Indianapolis State (which is probably too close to Indiana State)? Maybe Indianapolis Metropolitan University?

My school (UW-Milwaukee) has been toying with the idea of changing to the University of Milwaukee or Wisconsin State University (more like reverting, in the case of the latter) for a few years now. Personally, I would prefer the former since it would cost less to change, we're mistakenly called that anyway (at least when we're not being mistaken for Badgers) and Wisconsin State would give the impression that we're out in the sticks when we're a very urban campus. But at the end of the day I'd be happy with either one because as it is, we have to clarify where we went to school even when dealing with people from our own state. They've taken two votes on the matter (one in 2006, the other in 2009) and both times less than half the students wanted to keep UW-Milwaukee, yet it ended up winning because of the votes being split between WSU and U of Milwaukee.

[crashcarson15]

My undergraduate alma mater went though this a few years ago - nobody outside of Pittsburgh knows what or where the hell "Indiana University of Pennsylvania" is, or that it's a rather large (>16,000) school. They toyed with going with "Western Pennsylvania University", which would have been great (except that instead of not knowing where I went, everyone around here would think that I went to school with a bunch of toothless, redneck racists) (oh wait... I did.)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (or IUPUI, or even "Ooey-Pooey") was supposed to have done this as well, but abandoned the idea for some reason.

The University of Indianapolis would have been perfect if Indiana Central hadn't beaten them to it.

That's probably why they abandoned the idea. What else is there for them to change to besides Indianapolis State (which is probably too close to Indiana State)? Maybe Indianapolis Metropolitan University?

My school (UW-Milwaukee) has been toying with the idea of changing to the University of Milwaukee or Wisconsin State University (more like reverting, in the case of the latter) for a few years now. Personally, I would prefer the former since it would cost less to change, we're mistakenly called that anyway (at least when we're not being mistaken for Badgers) and Wisconsin State would give the impression that we're out in the sticks when we're a very urban campus. But at the end of the day I'd be happy with either one because as it is, we have to clarify where we went to school even when dealing with people from our own state. They've taken two votes on the matter (one in 2006, the other in 2009) and both times less than half the students wanted to keep UW-Milwaukee, yet it ended up winning because of the votes being split between WSU and U of Milwaukee.

Now that's a flawed vote. It should have 2 questions, "Would you support changing the name of the school?" and "If 'Yes' is the decision chosen, what would you suggest for the new name of the school to be?"

On the IUPUI thing... yeah I'm honestly not sure what exactly there is to change to though. White River University just sounds unprofessional, and I really can't think of anything else.

[fumbler]

Denver State

Central University Colorado

[illwauk]

That's probably why they abandoned the idea. What else is there for them to change to besides Indianapolis State (which is probably too close to Indiana State)? Maybe Indianapolis Metropolitan University?

My school (UW-Milwaukee) has been toying with the idea of changing to the University of Milwaukee or Wisconsin State University (more like reverting, in the case of the latter) for a few years now. Personally, I would prefer the former since it would cost less to change, we're mistakenly called that anyway (at least when we're not being mistaken for Badgers) and Wisconsin State would give the impression that we're out in the sticks when we're a very urban campus. But at the end of the day I'd be happy with either one because as it is, we have to clarify where we went to school even when dealing with people from our own state. They've taken two votes on the matter (one in 2006, the other in 2009) and both times less than half the students wanted to keep UW-Milwaukee, yet it ended up winning because of the votes being split between WSU and U of Milwaukee.

Now that's a flawed vote. It should have 2 questions, "Would you support changing the name of the school?" and "If 'Yes' is the decision chosen, what would you suggest for the new name of the school to be?"

On the IUPUI thing... yeah I'm honestly not sure what exactly there is to change to though. White River University just sounds unprofessional, and I really can't think of anything else.

Pretty much... I aired my grievance with the Student Association after the '06 vote (I wasn't there in '09) and all they told me was they wished they'd have thought to do it like that before they took the vote I guess I can't be surprised though since our school is known for how terrible the PoliSci department is at least as much as its known for anything positive.

As far as IUPUI... I just thought of the name University of the Crossroads. I know it has kind of an occultish sound to it, but anything is better than that mouthful they use now.

[crashcarson15]

That's probably why they abandoned the idea. What else is there for them to change to besides Indianapolis State (which is probably too close to Indiana State)? Maybe Indianapolis Metropolitan University?

My school (UW-Milwaukee) has been toying with the idea of changing to the University of Milwaukee or Wisconsin State University (more like reverting, in the case of the latter) for a few years now. Personally, I would prefer the former since it would cost less to change, we're mistakenly called that anyway (at least when we're not being mistaken for Badgers) and Wisconsin State would give the impression that we're out in the sticks when we're a very urban campus. But at the end of the day I'd be happy with either one because as it is, we have to clarify where we went to school even when dealing with people from our own state. They've taken two votes on the matter (one in 2006, the other in 2009) and both times less than half the students wanted to keep UW-Milwaukee, yet it ended up winning because of the votes being split between WSU and U of Milwaukee.

Now that's a flawed vote. It should have 2 questions, "Would you support changing the name of the school?" and "If 'Yes' is the decision chosen, what would you suggest for the new name of the school to be?"

On the IUPUI thing... yeah I'm honestly not sure what exactly there is to change to though. White River University just sounds unprofessional, and I really can't think of anything else.

Pretty much... I aired my grievance with the Student Association after the '06 vote (I wasn't there in '09) and all they told me was they wished they'd have thought to do it like that before they took the vote I guess I can't be surprised though since our school is known for how terrible the PoliSci department is at least as much as its known for anything positive.

As far as IUPUI... I just thought of the name University of the Crossroads. I know it has kind of an occultish sound to it, but anything is better than that mouthful they use now.

That could work actually. Crossroads State actually sounds better to me for what it's worth, but it could work.

[ManCalledAmp]

I like the idea of keeping Metro, but the identity problem seems to be with the big mouthful of a name, not with the College/University part. So I think DSU is best, with Central CO a pretty solid second.

[murtaugh]

Denver Metropolitan University. Simple.

[agentrygraphics]

Denver Metropolitan University...of Anaheim.

[roxfan00]

More town-hall meetings called in Metro renaming process

By Karen Auge

The Denver Post

Only about 75 people showed up for a 7:30 a.m. town hall meeting today, where Metropolitan State College of Denver President Stephen Jordan explained what's behind the plan to change the school's name.

That's far fewer than the 300 to 400 that usually make it to Metro State townhall meetings, college spokeswoman Caherine Lucas said, "But we think the weather had a huge impact."

So, the college will try again.

In addition to two more town halls, Metro leaders plan to meet with the Latino community, the alumni association and other community advisers before taking their findings to the college's board in early March.

"This is truly an outreach, a democratic process," Lucas said. "We'll be sending an electronic survey to faculty, staff and alums, so that will be distributed to almost 45,000 people" starting Thursday.

And, from Thursday through Feb. 28, anybody can voice their name preference on an online survey on the Metro State website.

The names to choose from, which include the current name, are:

University of Central Colorado

Denver State University

Metropolitan State College of Denver

Metropolitan State University of Denver.

For those who did make it through icy streets to Wednesday's town hall, Jordan spelled out some of the main reasons behind the proposed name change announced last week.

Chief among them, he told them, is the perception that Metro is a community college.

He presented results of a survey that found 80 percent of area businesses and 60 percent of alumni said the name Metro State "does not reflect quality and prestige."

In a PowerPoint presentation, Jordan told his audience that the new name should convey that the college is a four-year, diverse, accessible public institution.

Lucas said it's too soon to tell whether any consensus is forming around a particular name.

"We did have one alum who had taken time off work to come this morning and he said, 'the name's not broken, don't fix it.'"

Lucas said there is concern that the name change reflects a change in the college's mission to be an accessible urban campus.

"If anything, we will maintain our commitment to our mission and these three new names will help enhance that mission," she said.

Denver Post

[roxfan00]

Metro State Board selects new name for the College

The Metropolitan State College of Denver Board of Trustees today voted 5-2 to pursue legislative authority to change the institution?s name to ?Denver State University.?

The decision came at a special public board meeting on the Strategic Name Initiative at St. Cajetan?s Center where Sector Brands shared the results of their continuing name assessment. Nearly 100 people attended the meeting.

?We tried to provide as many avenues as possible for all constituents to weigh in on the process,? said Board Chair Robert Cohen of the comprehensive research conducted for the Strategic Name Initiative that included a combination of town hall meetings, stakeholder presentations, focus groups, one-on-one meetings and an electronic survey.

More than 8,700 people voted through the survey, with more than 80 percent supporting a new name for the College.

Denver State University and Metropolitan State University of Denver were the two names to emerge as the clear front runners among the following four names submitted for vote. Below is the breakdown of votes.

Denver State University 36.1%

Metropolitan State University of Denver 32%

Metropolitan State College of Denver 17.7%

University of Central Colorado 16.7%

President Stephen Jordan said a bill specifying the new name will be introduced with late bill status in the legislature by the end of the month.

[ldswoosh33]

Metro State Board selects new name for the College

The Metropolitan State College of Denver Board of Trustees today voted 5-2 to pursue legislative authority to change the institution?s name to ?Denver State University.?

The decision came at a special public board meeting on the Strategic Name Initiative at St. Cajetan?s Center where Sector Brands shared the results of their continuing name assessment. Nearly 100 people attended the meeting.

?We tried to provide as many avenues as possible for all constituents to weigh in on the process,? said Board Chair Robert Cohen of the comprehensive research conducted for the Strategic Name Initiative that included a combination of town hall meetings, stakeholder presentations, focus groups, one-on-one meetings and an electronic survey.

More than 8,700 people voted through the survey, with more than 80 percent supporting a new name for the College.

Denver State University and Metropolitan State University of Denver were the two names to emerge as the clear front runners among the following four names submitted for vote. Below is the breakdown of votes.

Denver State University 36.1%

Metropolitan State University of Denver 32%

Metropolitan State College of Denver 17.7%

University of Central Colorado 16.7%

President Stephen Jordan said a bill specifying the new name will be introduced with late bill status in the legislature by the end of the month.

I like the decision.

[omnivore]

Oh wow. Lived less than a block away for a bit and didn't realize they were pondering this. I figured they'd go with Denver State though.

[illwauk]

They chose the name that makes the most sense... good on them.

[Buster]

I vote for UCC.

[smith03]

I like the choice too.

Notice however:

Metropolitan State University of Denver 32%

Metropolitan State College of Denver 17.7%

very similar name combine is 49.7 % vs

Denver State U 36.1%

[sc49erfan15]

I like the choice too.

Notice however:

Metropolitan State University of Denver 32%

Metropolitan State College of Denver 17.7%

very similar name combine is 49.7 % vs

Denver State U 36.1%

It's the damn 1860 presidential election all over again.