When your school changes names

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

^^^ I'm going to start referring to cheerfulgreek's alma mater as Michigan Agricultural College. For their mascot, they should have a scarecrow, or a guy in overalls with a pitchfork, instead of Sparty.

I'm in!

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

My mom graduated from Michigan State College in 1954. Shortly thereafter, it became Michigan State University. Before it was MSC, it was Michigan Agricultural College. The same thing happened at the university where I teach, in 1983.

The only place you're going to still see the old name is on your diploma. Once a college changes its name, it gets hard to even find any reference to the old name. My guess is that if you ordered a transcript now, your transcript will say the new name.

Use the new name.

It can vary depending on the school, I think. My mom graduated (in 1947) from the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, which went co-ed and became the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1963 -- 50 years ago. Most people -- at least those from North Carolina and above the age of 30 or so -- still know what school is meant by "W.C.," and I can promise you that most W.C. alumnae never said they were graduates of or had degrees from UNCG. My mother always used the "W.C. (now UNCG)" format if she felt it necessary to use anything other than simply "I went to W.C." We were under very strict instructions that that's how it should be in her obituary (4+ years ago), and that's pretty common for W.C. alumnae.

By contrast, around the same time that W.C. became UNCG, North Carolina State College became North Carolina State University -- NCSU, NC State, or just "State." (Well, after a short stint as UNC at Raleigh. That's also when the University of North Carolina became UNC at Chapel Hill.) Perhaps because the name change for NC State was just "College" to "University," and because it didn't affect the State/NC State nicknames, only old timers and historians remember "State College."

Frankly, if the only thing that has changed for Jen is "College" to "University," I can't imagine how using either name alone would confuse anyone.

[Sciencewoman]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

I'm in!

I'm stopping by the 2013 football thread next....

Originally Posted by MysticCat

It can vary depending on the school, I think. My mom graduated (in 1947) from the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, which went co-ed and became the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1963 -- 50 years ago. Most people -- at least those from North Carolina and above the age of 30 or so -- still know what school is meant by "W.C.," and I can promise you that most W.C. alumnae never said they were graduates of or had degrees from UNCG. My mother always used the "W.C. (now UNCG)" format if she felt it necessary to use anything other than simply "I went to W.C." We were under very strict instructions that that's how it should be in her obituary (4+ years ago), and that's pretty common for W.C. alumnae.

By contrast, around the same time that W.C. became UNCG, North Carolina State College became North Carolina State University -- NCSU, NC State, or just "State." (Well, after a short stint as UNC at Raleigh. That's also when the University of North Carolina became UNC at Chapel Hill.) Perhaps because the name change for NC State was just "College" to "University," and because it didn't affect the State/NC State nicknames, only old timers and historians remember "State College."

Frankly, if the only thing that has changed for Jen is "College" to "University," I can't imagine how using either name alone would confuse anyone.

This all makes sense. Your mother was obviously proud of her alma mater and the heritage. In that case, it was much more than a name change. Growing up, my neighbor's mom graduated from Southern Seminary, a women's college in Buena Vista, VA. It was definitely of the finishing school variety, but it has since been "bought out" and has changed names a couple of times. We loved looking through her old yearbooks...all the women's nicknames were listed. Most of them were rather boring, shortened versions of their first names, but someone nicknamed "Panama" caught our eye and that became a private joke. We'd call each other "Panama" randomly. We really wondered what the back story was with that name. If his mom knew, she wouldn't tell us.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

This all makes sense. Your mother was obviously proud of her alma mater and the heritage. In that case, it was much more than a name change.

True -- the name change was symbolic of a more fundamental change in the school.

To be clear, she was always proud to be associated with UNCG, as were most W.C. alumnae I've known. They just wanted to to be clear that they graduated from W.C., not UNCG.


And I love the story about Southern Virginia University (formerly Southern Seminary). I may have to start calling you "Panama."

[Sciencewoman]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

And I love the story about Southern Virginia University (formerly Southern Seminary). I may have to start calling you "Panama."

If you do, you have to use the quotation marks. Air quotes were an integral part of the joke.