Change can be hard...particularly when it involves a name

A number of institutions have changed names in recent years.  Many of the name changes are causes for celebration as the The Hartford Business Journal reported for the University of Saint Joseph (West Hartford, CT).  

 

However, it apparently isn't always so easy.  There have been an unusual flurry of articles in recent days indicating that changing institutional names is often a more difficult process.  

Christopher O'Donnell reports for the Miami Herald-Tribune on problems facing the president of the State College of Florida.  O'Donnell reports that community members are still angry over the president's handling of a 2008 change in name from Manatee Community College.

   

And an investigative report by Shaun Sutner of the Worcester News Telegram found that despite initial promises of minimal cost, the tab for a name change and related marketing campaign at Worcester State University may reach $600,000.

A group of Georgia students have started a petition campaign for consideration of other options for the name of the institution that will result from the announced merger of Georgia Health Sciences University and Augusta State College.

A Houston Chronicle article reports on a marketing campaign at UTHealth to address concerns that a 2010 name change from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center hasn't been as effective as people might have hoped.

Changing names can also be a difficult process in other countries...extensive opposition has erupted in Nigeria at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), one of Nigeria's most prestigious universities, protesting a decision by President Goodluck Jonathan to rename the university after deceased politician, Moshood Kashimawo Abiola.

Finally, the BBC reports that in the United Kingdom, hundreds of people have signed petitions protesting the Royal Agricultural College's proposed change to become the Royal Agricultural University.

Carolina College for Women & Presbyterian Junior College (NC)

Digital North Carolina and the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center offer three yearbooks from Carolina College for Young Women  [1923, 1924 and 1925].  The institution was affiliated with the Methodist Church and operated in Maxton, NC from 1912-1926.  

The property was acquired for use by Presbyterian Junior College (PJC) which operated from 1929-1961.  PJC merged with Flora McDonald College of Reed Springs, NC to become what is today St. Andrew University.  Yearbooks from 1929-1960 and student newspapers from the late 1940's and early 1950's are also available.

National Park Seminary (MD)

National Park Seminary for young women was founded in 1894 in Forest Glen, MD.  The seminary occupied the former Forest Inn Hotel that operated from 1887-1894.  The seminary name changed to National Park College in 1937 and then closed in 1942 when the U.S. Army invoked the War Powers Act and condemned the property.

The Save Our Seminary web site offers a variety of resources relating to the institution and the history of the property.  

You can also find a link to a site created by Kenneth R. Stephens, Ph.D. that offers historical sketches and a large number of photographs.

An article by Christina Daglas in the October 2008 Washingtonian provides details of efforts to preserve the properties.  The National Park Seminary condominium project maintains an interesting web site.

The Medieval University

The BBC In Our Time series offers the podcast from a March 2011 episode on The Medieval University.  Host Melvyn Bragg leads a discussion with Miri Rubin (Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History at Queen Mary, University of London), Ian Wei (Senior Lecturer in Medieval European History at the University of Bristol), and Peter Denley (Reader in History at Queen Mary, University of London).

Columbus College (SD)

Columbus College was initially founded in Chamberlain, SD in 1909 as a Catholic boarding school and college.  The institution moved to Sioux Falls in 1921 and then closed in 1929.  The campus was purchased by the U.S. Government in 1946 to become a veterans hospital.  The page at Greetings from Sioux Falls includes other images.

Indiana University in the 19th Century

Indiana University Libraries offers podcasts that explore student life and culture at the institution in the 19th century.  Topics include the classical model of education, bogus campus publications, literary societies, and student competitions known as scraps.