So one reason I haven’t been posting much here lately is because I’ve been involved in some planning and discussions about changing our campus’ name from the University of Missouri-Rolla to something that better reflects our vision of becoming one of the nation’s top technological research universities. Yesterday, UMR Chancellor John F. Carney III publicly announced his desire to “enter into a discussion” about the name with students, alumni, faculty and staff. So now I, too, can talk publicly about it.
From the news release:
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 should 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.â€
Exciting times ahead! A lot of branding and identity issues to be discussed.
But it also means less frequent blogging in the coming weeks. I’ll try to squeeze some thoughts out of my head and onto this site from time to time.
Related posts and news coverage:
- A university by any other name… — from UMR’s research blog, Visions
- U.M. Rolla: “Missouri Tech”?
- University of Missouri-Rolla considers name change
Andy writes! 