Thursday, April 22, 2010

More on the Name Change: Responding to Your Questions and Concerns

During the past few weeks, we have had several open meetings to discuss the proposed name change and recommended names. The discussions have been lively and vigorous.

Several students and alumni support the name change and like the proposed names. Others have commented that they are upset or disappointed that UHD is changing its name. The issue of whether or not we will change the name was addressed and voted on by the University of Houston System’s Board of Regents more than a year ago. The Regents voted to change the name in December 2008. For more information, please see the UHD Web site FAQs here.

There are two names under consideration: City University and Houston City University. Either way, the University will remain a part of the University of Houston System, and official publications and letterhead will carry a tag-line that says something like,  'A Member of the University of Houston System' or 'A UH System University.'

Students, faculty, staff and alumni have raised several questions in the open meetings. Here are a few:

1.   Are any other UH System Universities in the process of changing their names? There are some preliminary discussions underway with students and faculty at the University of Houston-Victoria. Both at UHD and UH-Victoria, the original desire to change the name emerged from within the University itself. At UHD, discussions have taken place at various times over the past decade. A formal request to change UHD’s name was initiated by former president Max Castillo, about two years ago after considerable discussion on campus.


2. Why is the University only considering these two names? Several of you have proposed other names, some of which focus on location. When the consultants were first hired, they met with Chancellor Khator and with chairman of the Board of Regents, Welcome Wilson. As you may know, last year more than 90 names were proposed and several were formally presented to the Regents, but rejected. Many of those referenced specific locations (such as South Texas or Houston Bayou University). In this round of discussions, the consultants reviewed the many names previously proposed and eventually ruled out names with locations other than Houston. In addition, they held focus groups and open-ended discussions. Repeatedly, they heard references to Houston and to the city. They felt that Houston is an international city, has considerable name recognition, and made a strong case that if any location was to be referenced in the proposed university name, it should be Houston.

3.  I don't like the names; they sound like a community college and don't sound prestigious to me; why did they select these two names?  Recently, while at a national conference in Washington, D.C., I shared the proposed names at a small round table discussion with other  University presidents. They were surprised to learn that UHD is the 2nd largest university in Houston and is the13th largest public university in Texas and felt either name would help the university build a unique and distinctive identity. One told me, “Wow! Those are great names. They remind me of City University of New York and City University of London, which are known all over the world.” Another commented, "Houston is a huge city. It needs a university like that.” The consensus of those presidents with whom I spoke is that either name would bring prestige to the University.

4.  Why don't we name the university after a prominent individual, such as a former legislator, mayor or past president? The system has guidelines for naming universities after individuals. Universities, auditoriums, conference rooms, buildings, schools and departments are often named after an individual or a family. Naming rights require a gift of considerable size, usually many millions of dollars, which goes into the university endowment. Interest drawn from the gift supports specific activities, which are often defined by the donor (such as scholarships, professorships, research or specialized equipment). So, to name the university after a specific individual or family would require a multi-million dollar gift.

5.  How much is the name change costing the university? The contract with STAMATS and on-going work is in the range of approximately $60,000. Naturally, more will be spent over the coming year. If the University does change its name, there will be costs associated with marketing, new letterhead, new signs, etc. Other than signage, most of the cost would have been incurred anyway. As business cards and letterhead run out, we will order new ones, but with the new name and logo,  once they are adopted. Moreover, even if the University does not change its name, UHD must better market and brand itself. To meet these needs we have already planned to set aside allocations for branding, including billboards, newspaper, radio and television ads and internet advertising.

6. Will the name change hurt my chances of getting a job or admitted into graduate school? Once a name is selected by the Regents, a transition period will begin. The new name will be associated with the University of Houston System on official letterhead and on diplomas. We have spoken with other University presidents about their experiences with name changes. All of them explained that once they began marketing the university with its new name, visibility increased, as did applications and funds raised.  Several campuses experience improved campus cohesion and pride among students and alumni. Most  grew in enrollment and fund raising. Several commented that they also experienced a growth in international student enrollment, and they attracted more students from other cities and states. We expect the same thing to occur at our University.


7.  As an alumnus, I'm worried that the university is turning its back on our history. How will the history be retained? We are proud of UHD's history and will promote it and continue to build on that history. We have many great alumni who began their careers at UHD or passed through our campus at some point in their academic experience. We want their stories, and will proudly promote the history and accomplishments of our students, staff, faculty and alumni. UHD is still a relatively young University. I was surprised to learn when I arrived, that we don't have year books (which, of course, are now becoming obsolete anyway.) Even so, they are an important source of history. Unlike Texas Tech or Texas A & M, UHD has very few traditions. Over time, our students will develop traditions and they will become an important part of campus life.

8.   Even though I graduated many years ago, can I get a diploma with the new name, and can I order a new class ring? Yes.  We will work that out with the Regents and with ring vendors. Naturally, there will be charges for a new ring and probably minimal charges for a new diploma.

9.  What are the next steps? We are holding public discussions, focus groups, and will soon launch a straw poll for current students. We will poll other stakeholders including alumni who have given us their email addresses, faculty and staff in the months ahead. We want to hear your comments. We will summarize those comments as part of our presentation to the Regents. The Regents will vote on the suggested names sometime in early Fall 2010. If a name is adopted by the Regents, it will then be submitted to the legislature for approval. That process will specify an effective date for the new name. Thereafter, we will transition to a new name for the University.

Keep in touch. Check out the UHD Web site under Name Selection. I look forward to hearing from you.

Note:  Since this blog appeared, students, faculty, staff, and alumni will now be able to vote in a straw poll at a secure website. Cast your vote here.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Changing the Name of a University 2.0

When I started at UHD, other presidents told me that I was walking into a mine field. We'd have to make cuts, raise tuition, raise admission standards, and change the university's name--oh, and by the way, you have to do all of that in your first year. One friend told me, it's like walking into a Tsunami knowing its going to hit real soon.

Well, I came anyway. And, I'm glad I did. The University of Houston-Downtown is a great place. It has dedicated faculty and staff, devoted alumni, good support from the business community and local legislators, and has really dedicated students. Still, changing the name of a university is a very hard thing to do.

The last time it was tried there was a great deal of frustration on everybody's part. But, name change was already under way. The Board of Regents made a decision to change the name of UHD nearly two years ago, so now, it's time to decide what that new name will be.

When I arrived, work on an RFP was under way and soon a firm, STAMATS, was identified to work with us on the name change. I found them to be knowledgeable and experienced, as their focus is higher education. The firm held focus groups with students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Together, we met with key legislators, the UH system chancellor, and the chairman of the Board of regents. Then, they conducted online surveys of prospective students, current students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

On April 14th, they presented their results to the campus with recommendations for two possible names. We held several public meetings presenting the survey results, allowing everyone to voice their feelings--good, bad, or indifferent. I was truly impressed by excellent presentations, the research findings, the recommendations, and the reaction of the campus--which was basically supportive, but with lots of questions and comments. The Chairman of the Regents, Welcome Wilson, attended four meetings over two days and answered questions.

The presentations are online at this page.  STAMAT's findings underscored reasons why UHD should change its name. First, there is a lot of confusion about UHD. Students, employers, and donors confuse the University of Houston-Downtown with the University of Houston. Students apply to one university and show up at the other. They start classes at one university only to find out the major they want is at the other. Donors will tell deans or even the president of UHD, "We gave already this year," (meaning they gave to UH, not UHD). Employers say my assistant is a student at UH, when they actually are a student at UHD. This week a UHD faculty was quoted on a local television station, but identified as a faculty member at the University of Houston. Earlier a UHD student spoke at the White House and several times corrected the television interviewer, who repeatedly introduced her as a student from the University of Houston.

The confusion is natural. Unlike most systems that have universities in different cities, the University of Houston System has four campuses within a forty-mile radius. UH and UHD are just a few miles away from each other and adjuncts often teach at both universities. So, changing our name will help both institutions.

Second, a surprising number of people in Houston do not know of UHD and many think UHD is a branch campus of UH. They don't realize that it is a separately-accredited university. A survey of Houston residents conducted two years ago found that only a very small portion of respondents listed UHD, when asked to name four-year universities that serve Houston. Those that did name UHD thought it was a branch campus of UH. STAMATS found that just under 50% of prospective students surveyed thought UHD is a branch of UH. More surprisingly, nearly one-third of alumni and currently enrolled UHD students who participated in the survey thought UHD is a branch of UH. Worse, even some UHD faculty and staff made that same mistake, although these were mainly part-time faculty and staff.

Third, UHD is located downtown and serves Houston, but the majority of its students come from outside downtown. In fact, only 15% of students live within the inner loop (inside the 610 loop) and nearly half live out of the 8 Beltway. Moreover, we have learning centers in other parts of Houston and are opening a learning center in the Northwest up off 249 at the old HP Center (now Lone Star College's University Park).

Focus groups and survey results emphasized several important qualities of UHD: small classes, its location to the downtown and nearby employers, its diversity, and the fact it is interconnected to the city. These are important elements of what makes UHD distinct and starting point for branding, as we begin to brand the university.

Given all these reasons a name change makes sense, but one that retains a clear identification with Houston and the University of Houston System. STAMATS recommended two names, which are actually variants of each other: City University and Houston City University. Whichever name is ultimately selected, the name would include a tag, "A UH System University" or "Part of the University of Houston System."

There are very good reasons for either name. Clearly, UHD serves the city and surrounding environments and we get most of our students from Houston and the surrounding area. As one alumnus observed during the focus groups, "The school is in the city, but more importantly, the city is in the school."

The proposed names permit the university to tie itself to Houston even more clearly.  After all, as Houston grows so will our university.  The dialog and interaction was very good. Everyone had a chance to react and voice their opinion. So, what are the next steps? We will hold more focus groups, hold a straw poll to see support for one name or the other, and report our findings to the Board of Regents.

The Regents will then vote on the names and select a new name for the university. Finally, the legislature must approve the new name, which will only occur if the campus community rallies behind the new name.

So, there's much work to be done. But, we took an important step forward. Now, the discussions begin.