Students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will have the opportunity to vote on a possible name change for the university in their upcoming student elections later this month.
The UWM Student Association Senate voted on the bill Sunday, deciding to place a referendum on the election ballot April 26 and 27 that will allow the student body to voice its opinion. Members from the Senate met with UWM Chancellor Carlos Santiago yesterday to discuss their ideas.
"The idea is to get a name more in line with our being a prominent research university," Neal Michals, member of the Senate and author of the bill, said. "[A new name] would give us distinction — more of an identity."
Michals went on to say that the change would rid the university of its current hyphenated name, which is "hampering" the school's image. People "just don't take [schools with hyphenated names] seriously," he said.
A draft of the bill presented to the Student Association Senate noted that a hyphenated name indicates "second-class status" among other postsecondary institutions and that those schools are not nearly as well respected as peer institutions with non-hyphenated names.
The original bill proposed that the name be changed to Wisconsin State University, Michals said. However, senate discussions led to a list of additional names to be included on the ballot: University of Milwaukee, Milwaukee State University and Milwaukee University. A write-in option will also be included.
The drafted bill also suggests that UWM's current name hinders the university's attempts to find an identity on a national level because "when one references UWM, people from outside of Milwaukee assume one is talking about Madison."
Other reasoning behind the name change in the drafted bill includes the school's large enrollment — second only to UW-Madison in the UW System — and the university's status as a doctoral institution. According to the bill, these qualities warrant a more prestigious name.
This would not be the first name change in UWM's history. According to Michals, the school has had several names since its beginnings in 1885 as the Milwaukee Normal School, which catered to teachers.
One major consideration likely to come up later if the bill gains momentum, Tanner said, is what the name change would mean for other campuses in the system. With a new name, UWM would be the only four-year school in the UW System without the traditional hyphenated name.
Michals, though, noted UWM "most definitely" would remain part of the UW System and that the name change is intended more for recognition than separation from the system.
Raymond Duncan, speaker for the Student Association Senate, expressed similar sentiments. The new name would represent the image of the school, he said, while the current name just represents its location.
Brian Tanner, organizing and communications director for the United Council of UW Students, said proposed name changes are not new to the UW System, either. One of the names being considered on UWM's student election ballot — Wisconsin State University — was also proposed at UW-Whitewater, Tanner said, but was not met with much success.
"This isn't new," Tanner said. "It's something other campuses have looked at, as well, as a way to stand out."
Both Duncan and Michals noted the proposed name change is only in beginning stages and that the purpose of the vote is to assess student opinion.
The proposal is being forwarded to Gov. Jim Doyle, the Wisconsin State Legislature, UW System President Kevin Riley, the UW System Board of Regents, UWM Chancellor Santiago, Provost Rita Cheng and the United Council of UW Students.
