Home » UM Curators recognize historic status of MU

UM Curators recognize historic status of MU

Update Nov. 29, 2007

The University of Missouri Board of Curators at its meeting today in Kansas City voted unanimously to recognize the historic status of MU. The amendment to the collected rules of the UM System on campus name identification reads as follows:

"For purposes of official correspondence, first reference to the UM campus in Columbia shall be to the University of Missouri-Columbia. Second and subsequent references may be to the University of Missouri, MU or Mizzou. In recognition of the historic status of the Columbia campus as the first campus to bear the name of the University of Missouri, the University of Missouri-Columbia may use the form ‘University of Missouri’ in written communications (print and electronic) relating to student and faculty recruitment, advancement (fundraising, alumni relations, marketing), intercollegiate athletics, and other similar public relations functions."

Related to name identification for the University of Missouri System, the Collected Rules read as follows:

"This name shall refer to the unified, state-wide, multi-campus University of Missouri System and the administration for the System. First reference shall be the University of Missouri System. Second and subsequent references may be UM System, University System, or University. In addition, the UM System officials may have occasion from time to time to refer to the entire university as the University of Missouri."

History

The University of Missouri was founded in 1839 in Columbia, Missouri, as the first public university west of the Mississippi River. Today, MU is Missouri’s premier public land-grant university designated in the 1862 Morrill Act to deliver the benefits of its cutting edge research to the people. MU also ranks as Missouri’s top public research university and is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), the nation’s most distinguished group of public and private research institutions. After the four-campus system was created in 1963, the name of the University of Missouri in Columbia was officially changed to the University of Missouri-Columbia. The other campuses in the new system were designated University of Missouri-Kansas City (formerly University of Kansas City), University of Missouri-Rolla (formerly Missouri School of Mines) and University of Missouri-St. Louis. Recently, UM-Rolla received approval from the UM Board of Curators to change its name to Missouri University of Science and Technology to better reflect its mission.

Q&As

Issue: Restore the name of the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) to the University of Missouri, with the approval of the UM Board of Curators and to be reflected in the Collected Rules and Regulations. Other campuses in the University of Missouri System would retain their current identities as approved by the Board of Curators, and the UM System would once again use that designation (UM System) for the four-campus system and its administration, as currently reflected in the Collected Rules and Regulations..

Q: Many people think the campus in Columbia is the University of Missouri. Why doesn’t MU just use that name?

A: The Collected Rules and Regulations of the University of Missouri System designate specific names for each of the four campuses in the System, so each must be in compliance in regard to signage, letterhead, communications, etc. The authority to change the Collected Rules rests with the governing body, the UM Board of Curators.

Q: What public institutions of higher education in Missouri currently have statewide names?

A: Truman State University (formerly Northeast Missouri State University); Missouri State University (formerly Southwest Missouri State University); and Missouri University of Science and Technology (currently UM-Rolla/new name takes effect 2008).

Q: What name do people use when they are searching for MU on the Web?

A: From Jan. 11–Aug. 4, 2007, the MU homepage received 5,434,856 visits. Of that number, 1,365,450 came to the site by using a search engine such as Google, Yahoo, etc. These are the search terms they used most frequently to get to MU’s Web site, www.missouri.edu, and the number of times those terms were used:

1. University of Missouri	212,718
2. Mizzou	129,031
3. University of Missouri Columbia	66,377
4. Mizzou.edu	44,155
5. people finder	42,887
6. Missouri.edu	34,549
7. parking	33,118
8. www.missouri.edu	31,622
9. Missouri University	26,586
10. University of Missouri-Columbia	24,651

Note that No. 3 and No. 10 added together represent 91,028. This is less than half of the number searching University of Missouri.

Q: Who has proposed restoring the name?

A: For many years, various MU administrators, faculty, staff and alumni have thought that a return to the campus’ original name would be in its best interest, as well as the System’s and the state’s. On May 2, 2007, the co-chairs of the National Campaign Steering Committee sent a letter to MU Chancellor Brady Deaton requesting that the “dash Columbia” be deleted and the name be The University of Missouri. Chancellor Deaton found their reasons compelling and made the decision to move the request forward.

Q: What is the National Campaign Steering Committee?

A: The steering committee is a group of 57 MU alumni and friends who provide countless hours as the volunteer leaders of the For All We Call Mizzou billion dollar fundraising campaign. They are highly successful individuals in their chosen fields from all over the country who are strongly committed to a bright future for MU. They were invited by former Chancellor Richard Wallace and Chancellor Deaton to be on the steering committee.

Q: Have any other groups endorsed the name restoration?

A: The Mizzou Alumni Association sent a resolution to the chancellor dated June 5, 2007, that includes this statement: “The Governing Board of the University of Missouri Alumni Association hereby expresses its full support that the official name of our University be returned to its original title of the University of Missouri.” Additional endorsements have come from the MU Faculty Council, the Staff Advisory Council, the Jefferson Club Trustees, the MU Council of Deans, the MU Retirees Association, the College of Engineering Alumni Association Board of Directors, the University of Missouri Law School Foundation, the School of Law Campaign Committee, the College of Engineering Public Policy Advisory Committee, the St. Louis Chapter of the Mizzou Alumni Association, and the Mizzou Flagship Council. Endorsements also have come from student groups, including the Missouri Students Association Senate, the Residence Halls Association Congress, the MU Graduate and Professional Council, and the Legion of Black Collegians Senate.

Q: Why do these groups think restoring the name is important?

A: Reasons cited have included the following:

MU is the flagship university of the state of Missouri.
MU has a statewide mission yet carries a regional name.
It is critical to the future of the state and the UM System that MU continue to increase its success in attracting external research funding.
It is critical to the future of the state and the UM System that MU be able to compete successfully within the state, in the United States and internationally for students and faculty.
MU has more than 245,000 alumni worldwide, and the alumni/donor constituency is critically important to the University’s ability to recruit students, to raise funds and to seek other types of support. Representatives of this constituency think the “dash Columbia” impedes MU’s growth on many fronts and its success.
Use of the statewide name enables MU to take full advantage of brand recognition both within the state and nationally.
Eliminating the confusion regarding the identity of Missouri’s flagship that is caused by the location-specific name will enhance MU’s ability to garner increased outside resources that will strengthen the UM System and benefit the state. More than any institution in Missouri, MU has belonged to all its citizens for 168 years.

Q: Why did UM-Rolla change its name, and how did it accomplish this goal?

A: According to UMR’s Web site, a name change was considered: “To distinguish UMR from the other University of Missouri campuses; to reflect the university’s national mission; to broaden market share for the best students nationally, and to enhance the university’s reputation.” The Web site states: “To more effectively achieve campus priorities, Chancellor Carney proposed a university wide conversation about the possibility of changing the university’s name to something that better reflects our mission and focus.” UMR conducted that conversation and then formally requested a name change to Missouri University of Science and Technology from the Board of Curators, which approved it. MU supported UMR’s goal to change its name.

Q: Does the MU campus administration support the name restoration?

A: Yes. Chancellor Brady Deaton was quoted as follows in the August 7, 2007, Columbia Daily Tribune: “At a time when regionalism has been so prevalent in the state of Missouri, it is important that the state realizes our university, our campus, is not a regional institution. To have any designation that tends to localize it or suggest that it’s not the statewide institution is, in a sense, demeaning to the most significant statewide university in the state.”

Q: UMR conducted a process for identifying a new name and assessing the support for the new name. Does MU have a process?

A: Yes, MU has a specific process. MU’s situation is somewhat different from other institutions in Missouri that have changed their names in that MU is seeking to use its own historic name, and there has been long-time constituent support for the return to that name. Other institutions (Truman State, Missouri State and UMR) generally chose new names and sought constituent support for those names. In MU’s case, major constituent groups proposed the name restoration; the University then followed up by systematically collecting endorsements from its other major internal and external constituent groups.

Q: Will this affect the relationship between the University and Columbia?

A: Thanks to the great vision of local citizens, the University of Missouri was founded in Columbia in 1839. Today, their descendants plus thousands of other community members are among MU’s strongest supporters in the entire world. “We consider our Columbia home to be the very best a university could have,” said Chancellor Deaton. “The partnership that began decades ago continues to be a top priority for the 21st Century for the benefit of us all.” To those who question the value of the name restoration, supporters emphasize the great need to transcend the regionalism that impedes the state’s progress and to support the ability of the flagship to unite Missouri.

Q: What would it cost MU to restore its name?

A: Very little. MU would simply replace letterhead, publications, etc., when the time came to reorder. Since hearing about the possibility of name restoration, alumni have come forward offering to provide private funds to cover any costs.

Q: What other aspects of MU’s role in the state and nation are important to consider?

A: For consideration:

MU is one of 34 public U.S. universities to be invited for membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU), the nation’s most distinguished group of public and private research institutions. (The other Missouri member is Washington University.)
MU is designated as comprehensive doctoral with medical/veterinary by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (formerly Carnegie
Research I).
With 20 schools and colleges and more than 264 degree programs — including 92 graduate programs and 36 online degree options — MU is the most comprehensive university in the state.
MU attracts more valedictorians, Curators scholars and two times more of the state’s Bright Flight Scholars than any other college or university in Missouri.
Twenty-eight percent of MU’s enrollment comes from St. Louis; eleven percent from Kansas City; and thirty-eight percent from outstate Missouri.
MU plays various roles throughout the state, including founding partner in St. Louis’ Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, stakeholder institution in the Kansas City Life Sciences Institute, and major source of innovation through the Agricultural Experiment Station’s farms and research centers across Missouri.
Every week, Missouri’s economy benefits as MU brings in an average of $2.2 million in private donations, spends $9 million in payroll and wins $3.5 million in external funds for research.
MU is one of only six public universities in the country with medicine, veterinary medicine and law all on one campus.
More Missouri physicians received medical training from MU than from any other university. MU physicians treat patients from every county in the state through a network of hospitals, clinics and telehealth sites.
Two-thirds of Missouri veterinarians are MU graduates.
Fourteen percent of Missouri’s 68,516 classroom teachers and 23 percent of the state’s 3,195 principals earned degrees at Mizzou.
MU is focused on student success with the highest graduation rate of any public university in the state.
Based on data from the National Science Foundation, MU ranks No. 1 among all institutions in the AAU in growth of federal research funding from 1994 to 2004. In fiscal year 2005, MU spent an estimated $220 million on research and development. This had an estimated $440 million economic impact on Missouri. Every $1 million in external funding to MU creates about 40 jobs.
MU attracts 72 percent of the federal research dollars flowing to Missouri’s public universities.
MU Extension delivers the University’s land-grant mission to every county of the state and millions of its citizens, including 100,700 children age 5-18 involved in 4-H youth development.
MU is home to the world’s most powerful university research reactor and is the largest U.S. producer of radioisotopes used in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
MU has more than 245,000 alumni worldwide and nearly 118,000 in the state.
MU is a global institution: Last year 880 international scholars came to campus to pursue post-doc studies or extended research collaboration; 17 percent of MU graduates earned credits toward their degrees studying abroad in 60 different countries; and the Mizzou Alumni Association chapter in Seoul, Korea, has 1,000 members, making it the Association's largest international chapter.
Mizzou is the only public university in the state to stage a billion dollar comprehensive fundraising campaign, nearing completion with $811 million raised to date.
MU is the home of the Missouri Tigers. Over 500,000 fans attend athletic events every year, and millions cheer the team on around the world, enhancing the state’s visibility.

Q: What do the Collected Rules and Regulations of the UM System now say about the University of Missouri name?

A: The Collected Rules identify the University of Missouri System, the University of Missouri-Columbia, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the University of Missouri-Rolla (to become Missouri University of Science and Technology), and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. There is no reference to the University of Missouri. (Chapter 170.060)

Q: Since the University’s second reference or nickname is “MU,” should “Missouri University” be considered for a new name?

A: History and tradition play very important roles for flagship universities. While it would seem to make sense that MU would stand for Missouri University, history and alumni say otherwise. Other institutions with similar identities include the University of Colorado (CU), the University of Kansas (KU), and the University of Oklahoma (OU).

Q: Could restoring MU’s name weaken the University of Missouri System?

A: Supporters of the name restoration think it would strengthen the System by strengthening the flagship that is currently affected in a negative way by name confusion and a regional connotation. One chief characteristic of a “university system” is that the member institutions are individually accredited by regional, government-approved accreditors, as opposed to a “multi-campus university” (one university) where only the multi-campus organization is accredited. MU, UMKC, UMR and UMSL are individually accredited.