Quote:
Originally Posted by SIGMANU@MSU
MUW, or "The W" as it's called here doesn't have athletics and the vast majority of it's students are women (like 85% I think) even though it's admitted men since 1982 I believe...I attribute this the fact that I'm a dude and I wouldn't want my diploma to say "Mississippi University FOR WOMEN". I think a name change would help attract students and improve it's image for sure.
|
Is there a reason, other than tradition/alumnae resistance, that the name hasn't been changed? When The Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, popularly known as "Woman's College" or "WC," went co-ed in 1963, the name was changed to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. There were certainly many alumnae who found that disappointing, and there are still WC alumnae out there who talk about the school as "WC." (BTW, with over 18,000 students, the school still has about a 2:1 female-to-male ratio.)
The "new" name had the effect of emphasizing the connection to the UNC System, but it also set a pattern that ultimately had the effect of making the school another "UNC at ___." When the consolidated university system was formed in 1931, it was comprised of three institutions brought under one umbrella -- UNC-Chapel Hill, WC and the State College of Agriculture and Engineering (since 1961 NC State University -- the school's trustees and supporters in the legislature fought off efforts to rename the school UNC-Raleigh). So, when WC changed its name in 1963, it was the only "UNC at ____" other than Chapel Hill. But since then, the system has grown to include all 16 public universities in the state, 6 of which now have a "UNC at ____" name. (And one of those is Chapel Hill, the school everyone thinks of when they hear "UNC.")
While the move to a new name was appropriate and necessary in 1963, I think some still wish that the new name had reflected something of the individuality of the school.