Are the regional university naming wars over?

Remember a few years ago, three and a half to be exact, when the names “University of Western Colorado” and “Western Colorado University” were the source of tremendous tension between Colorado Mesa University and Gunnison’s Western State Colorado University?

The 2011 row began when then-Mesa State College surveyed alumni, students, staff, and the community and found the name “University of Western Colorado” to be the No. 1 choice for renaming Mesa.

Western State’s Board of Trustees, worried about name confusion, immediately passed a resolution opposing any Colorado based institution of higher education using the words “western” or “west” in its name.

Mesa acquiesced to Western’s demands and choose the fourth most popular name from the survey — Colorado Mesa University.

Immediately after legislation was signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper which officially renamed Mesa State College to CMU, Western State College began exploring rebranding and adding the word university to their name too.

A Western survey found “University of Western Colorado” and “Western Colorado University” to be the most popular names. However, CMU President Tim Foster, in a Feb. 8, 2012 letter to Western’s board wrote, “two of the names in your survey continue to pose a problem both from a brand perception and confusion standpoint. In our most recent Board of Trustees meeting, the Board asked again that you avoid the names University of Western Colorado and Western Colorado University.”

In the end, opposition and political maneuvering resulted in neither institution using the survey popular names.

While CMU may have won the battle by playing tit-for-tat in the 2011-2012 university naming skirmishes, ultimately WSCU will win the war.

In January 2016, WSCU was issued a notice of allowance, by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), to use the names “University of Western Colorado” and “Western Colorado University.” The trademark rights were issued without any party objecting to or opposing the names during the posted opposition period. In April 2016, WSCU filed an extension, rather than filing a statement of use. The Gunnison institution has three years to develop a UWC or WCU brand, so they can file a statement of use, or let the marks die.

Did WSCU manage to pull a fast one on CMU? The Gunnison Country Times recently quoted WSCU officials as saying the university is not pursuing a name change to align with the newly acquired trademarks.

This type of comment by WSCU officials makes the bona fide intent to use the trademark very fishy. If WSCU’s intent is really just to hold the name, but not use it, then they are ordinary squatters, along with defrauding the public.

Unfortunately for CMU, the USPTO takes declarants on their face value, unless it is highly suspicious. Because it is plausible that WSCU could have a bona fide intent to change to “University of Western Colorado” or “Western Colorado University” down the road — or — an intention to use that mark as a sub-brand for something else on campus, the USPTO will let it go.

So far, no local legislators have been formally asked to carry name changing legislation for WSCU, so taking those clever Mountaineers at their word, let’s assume they are telling the truth to everyone. WSCU could actually develop a UWC or WCU brand which is different from their legal name.

In the business world it is common for a brand name to be different from the legal name of the business. Why not pursue a similar strategy in the academic world? This would be a stroke of genius, as after using their new brand name, WSCU could ask the Colorado General Assembly for a legal change to match their trademark. If the legislators or the governor said no, that would be OK, as WSCU could continue business under their trade name.

Ultimately, WSCU gets the names “University of Western Colorado” and “Western Colorado University,” which is why CMU not only lost to WSCU’s earliest demands, but the tit-for-tat measure was merely a reprisal delaying the inevitable loss.

In the broader picture, the delay and CMU’s non-opposer status, created a cease fire that has endured long enough for everyone’s tempers to subside, passions to ebb, and the possibility of a new brand identity to emerge that will result in a more peaceful and psychologically acceptable result for the parties.

WSCU holds a very powerful hand of cards right now and it will be fascinating to see which direction the university chooses to head.

The author, a CMU alumnus, served two terms as student trustee. Contact him at m.c.soper@ed-alumni.net.

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M Soper, "Are the regional university naming wars over?" The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colo.) 15 May 2016 print. online. accessed 16 May 2016.