What’s in a name? When it comes to one’s alma mater, more than some might think.
Many students and alumni of Texas A&M University-Commerce are pushing back against a proposal to incorporate Dallas into the school’s name.
Advocates of the change say it would help with the school’s brand name recognition, but the name that’s been floated has sparked protest and a petition that’s fast approaching 9,000 signatures.
University alum Madi Lovett, who created the petition, spoke to the Texas Standard.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: Alright, fill in the blanks for us here. What is this proposed new name for Texas A&M-Commerce, and who’s proposing it?
Madi Lovett: Sure. So, some information was leaked around June that presented a name that is now being said was never in the question. So, now what we’re hearing from university officials is that the proposed name is Texas A&M University-Dallas.
That name is being proposed by university officials and the president, and it is supposed to go to a vote with the Board of Regents. We’re not sure when that’s happening. It could be the end of this month. It could be some other time in the future.
Why is that a problem for you and opponents of the name change? I mean, after all, Commerce is on the northeastern edge of the Metroplex, right? You’ve got a satellite campus in Dallas proper and a lot of students and faculty from the Dallas area.
Yeah, that’s right, and a lot of the feedback that we’ve heard since we started this petition is that the name Dallas is not representative of the main campus that is in Commerce. Dallas is 67.7 miles away from Commerce, and the Dallas name does not represent the university community and the student body. I and many others believe that the Dallas name added to the Commerce campus is stripping away the legacy of Texas A&M-Commerce.
You know, this university has done a lot of great things since being named Texas A&M-Commerce. They’ve won a national title in football. It’s continuing to grow. It’s the fastest-growing university in Texas, as well as the fourth oldest.
And we believe this is not a name issue, or it isn’t an issue attached to the name Commerce. We believe that it’s an awareness issue. So, instead of pouring these dollars to rebrand to a name that doesn’t represent the campus, many alumni believe that we should be pouring that money into upgrading facilities and getting the awareness of Texas A&M-Commerce out there.
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Texas A&M-Commerce, though, has had many names over the years — East Texas Normal College, East Texas State Normal College, East Texas State Teachers College, East Texas State College, East Texas State University — and it wasn’t really until 1996 that it got its current name, by my understanding.
I also understand that was a huge boost for the school. Just throwing out this question, would you concede that adding the word Dallas could potentially raise the school’s profile even more?
That is what some university officials have been pushing. I’ve attended two open forums hosted by the university president, and that is his argument on the matter.
However, Commerce has a very different atmosphere and environment. The class sizes are smaller. You know, it’s a very tight-knit community. It feels like a small town. A lot of the local businesses depend on the campus economy to kind of boost their revenue and all of that.
So, you know, I understand where the Dallas name makes sense to some; however, all of those aspects of Commerce and, you know, the potential that it has would be appealing to me as a prospective student now, and we’ve actually heard from some prospective students on the petition where they agree that the name should be left as it is.
Have you got any indication from the university that they’ve seen the petition, and that they’re considering perhaps not going this route? When would such a decision ultimately be made? Any timeline?
Right, so we have received indication that university officials have seen the petition. This name change will go to a vote by the Board of Regents, and an item like this does have to be posted 72 hours prior to the vote, so we are diligently watching and keeping track, and we just don’t have a certain date on the vote yet.
