2008 Woodie Awards
Alumni struggle to keep the name
Lizzie McQuillan
Issue date: 4/29/08 Section: News
But as the discussion of the name change circulated around campus, Linnane realized the issue had taken a life of its own, apart from the overall plan.
A major concern about the name change is that the distinction of Loyola College as a small, strong community rooted in undergraduate education will be lost. "It's discouraging that this keeps coming up," said Linnane, who has addressed the argument in many forums in the past few weeks. "Loyola as a comprehensive university puts a focus on undergraduate education and highly personalized education. That will continue to be at the forefront of what we are doing."
Linnane insisted that a name change does not mean that the heart and value of the school will be altered. The universities that Loyola competes with most directly, such as Villanova University, Fairfield University and Elon University are known for personal community experiences and commitment to the liberal arts.
According to the research conducted by the president, the board of trustees and SimpsonScarborough (the marketing and branding research services working with the college to sharpen strategies and maintain the image of Loyola) the name change will be a step toward positive change and advancement for the school. As the demographics of the number of students attending colleges changes in the Northeast, there is a need to focus on the new market.
"One of the things that we see is that the number of 18 year-olds who are going to college in the Mid Atlantic region in the Northeast is declining precipitously. It is particularly declining among Roman Catholics in the Northeast," said Linnane. "This is a great opportunity for us to recruit a more diverse student body."
Kennelly believes that this marketing tactic could do more damage than good. "The thing that you want to start with is some sort of distinction for your brand," said Kennelly, critiquing the intention of having the name better represent the facets of the institution. "The Loyola College brand is a unique brand… changing the name and making it less distinct, among the three other universities in America, doesn't seem like a sensible thing to do."
A major concern about the name change is that the distinction of Loyola College as a small, strong community rooted in undergraduate education will be lost. "It's discouraging that this keeps coming up," said Linnane, who has addressed the argument in many forums in the past few weeks. "Loyola as a comprehensive university puts a focus on undergraduate education and highly personalized education. That will continue to be at the forefront of what we are doing."
Linnane insisted that a name change does not mean that the heart and value of the school will be altered. The universities that Loyola competes with most directly, such as Villanova University, Fairfield University and Elon University are known for personal community experiences and commitment to the liberal arts.
According to the research conducted by the president, the board of trustees and SimpsonScarborough (the marketing and branding research services working with the college to sharpen strategies and maintain the image of Loyola) the name change will be a step toward positive change and advancement for the school. As the demographics of the number of students attending colleges changes in the Northeast, there is a need to focus on the new market.
"One of the things that we see is that the number of 18 year-olds who are going to college in the Mid Atlantic region in the Northeast is declining precipitously. It is particularly declining among Roman Catholics in the Northeast," said Linnane. "This is a great opportunity for us to recruit a more diverse student body."
Kennelly believes that this marketing tactic could do more damage than good. "The thing that you want to start with is some sort of distinction for your brand," said Kennelly, critiquing the intention of having the name better represent the facets of the institution. "The Loyola College brand is a unique brand… changing the name and making it less distinct, among the three other universities in America, doesn't seem like a sensible thing to do."
Viewing Comments 1 - 9 of 10
Jim Kennelly
posted 4/29/08 @ 12:03 AM EST
Lizzie--
Sorry to nitpick but if you check your tape, you'll see that I said I was the president of the Class of 1986 for two years but graduated in 1988. (Continued…)
Greg Miller
posted 4/29/08 @ 8:27 AM EST
I am amazed by the controversy the proposed name change has caused. No amount of marketing will change the experience of being on campus. If you are trying to lure students from west of the Rockies, marketing comes into play but having just been through the marketing process placing 4 kids in college the past two years, it's the on-campus experience that makes the final decision. (Continued…)
Laura
posted 4/29/08 @ 9:29 AM EST
"It's discouraging that this keeps coming up," said Linnane, who has addressed the argument in many forums in the past few weeks. "Loyola as a comprehensive university puts a focus on undergraduate education and highly personalized education. (Continued…)
John
posted 4/29/08 @ 1:15 PM EST
"The debate of a name change has come up at various other universities over the past years. Several schools have experienced immediate success to the change. (Continued…)
Jim
posted 4/29/08 @ 4:45 PM EST
It's worth noting that the NYT article cited in Lizzie's story also went on to discuss how Beaver College, which faced a very real resistance to it's existing name --more than 30 percent of prospective students polled said they wouldn't even consider the school because of the name-- Beaver College still sent out over 6,000 questionaires to alumni, students and parents to solicit their thoughts about a name change and spent a year as a educational community discussing the name change idea fully and openly. (Continued…)
Disgusted Alum
posted 4/30/08 @ 4:26 PM EST
As stated on the About Loyola page at www.loyola.edu:
"Loyola offers a liberal arts undergraduate program with majors and minors in 36 academic fields. (Continued…)
Alumnae
posted 10/10/08 @ 11:50 AM EST
Just a simple comment... can we please STOP using Boston College as an example.
There is a Boston University, so BC can't change their name.
Disgusted Alum
posted 10/18/08 @ 12:50 PM EST
No, Boston College COULD change their name to countless other ones that include the word University, just not Boston University. Perhaps they have grasped the concept that the name matters to many people and instead choose to spend their time and money on matters that actually benefit the school, rather than one that alienates alumni and supporters. (Continued…)
NO MORE DONATIONS!
posted 10/20/08 @ 11:11 PM EST
Unfortunately, Father Linnane made his decision long before any of us were aware that there was even a "discussion." He notified the press before he notified students, faculty, staff or alumni. (Continued…)
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