In 2012, Mesa State students may graduate from Colorado Mesa University.
On April 25, the Mesa State Board of Trustees unanimously voted to rename the school Colorado Mesa University.
A survey of 4,296 students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members showed that CMU was the fourth most popular choice, preceded by University of Western Colorado, Mesa State University and Western Colorado University.
Executive Director of Marketing and Recruitment Rick Taggart said the survey was not meant to reach conclusions about the new name, but was meant to narrow down the options.
The filtering process began with over 60 choices, gathered through traditional naming conventions held by the administration and ASG. The list was later filtered down to 20 options. The survey yielded eight finalists, which were then voted on by the Board of Trustees.
Among the eight names, only CMU and Mesa University of Colorado met the board’s selection criteria to see which options were strongest in communicating the heritage and history of the region, along with which name was better in creating a brand image so people would not confuse it with other schools.
“There was a tremendous respect for the name ‘Mesa,’” Taggart said. “Stakeholders wanted it included in the name in some way.”
The survey results showed that 71 percent of respondents said that including “Colorado” in a school’s name improves its ability to recruit students, and 63 percent said that “Colorado” should be in any new name for Mesa State.
The board selected CMU because of their opposition to the initials MUC.
“I can walk people through the process logically–the conclusion is evident,” Taggart said.
Names such as University of Western Colorado and Western Colorado University were rejected in part because of a conflict with Western State College in Gunnison.
In March, a written resolution was adopted by Western State’s Board of Trustees that said, “Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Board of Trustees of Western State College of Colorado stand in unanimous opposition to Mesa State College or any other public higher education institution in Colorado using the term Western or any derivative of that name (e.g., West) in naming their institution.”
Taggart said he did not want the college to be known for starting a fight over the name.
“I didn’t want to set up the institution for a fight like that,” Taggart said.
Official changes as a result of the name change are scheduled to take place once the name is approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor within the month. Taggart said recruitment materials bearing the new name will change sooner than other aspects such as redesigning the website or changing signs, but said he hopes that many of the changes will be official by the time school starts in the fall.
The name change has received both praise and criticism from students. Student polls and discussions have circulated social media websites such as Facebook, and e-mails have been sent to school administrators about the change.
“I’ve probably received a dozen or a dozen and a half e-mails from students saying they dislike the name change, or that CMU is not their favorite name,” MSC President Tim Foster said. “I’ve probably received just as many from students who love it.”
Foster said that although the name change will require changes in the school logo, signs and merchandise, the name change itself has a zero percent impact on the school’s estimated 5.47 percent increase in tuition next year. The tuition increase, which is projected to be the lowest percentage tuition increase in the state, is a result of the decrease in state funding for the school.
“There’s more to a name than what you like,” Foster said. “You have to look from different perspectives. The name Mesa State College has only been around since the nineties. The debate is about two words. ‘State’ was added into the name to distinguish it as a four-year institution. ‘Mesa’ is a tradition. ‘State’ is a modifier.”
Despite the name change, MSC plans to keep the same admission standards, small class sizes and mascot.  Alumni will also have the option to request new diplomas including the CMU name.

ccsandli@mesastate.edu