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.

Soper receives LLM from UNH

Matthew Soper was presented an LL.M. in intellectual property law from University of New Hampshire School of Law in a May ceremony.

Boies, Soper, and Olson

Noted attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies, who just argued the same-sex marriage case before the U.S. Supreme Court, addressed the graduating class.

While at UNH School of Law, Soper participated in the Intellectual Property and Transaction Clinic and the Teen Court Program.

Of his experience at UNH School of Law he says, "I polished my legal skills and gained invaluable practical experience which I will be able to bring back to Colorado. Additionally, I made many new friends from around the world. It was great fun being in New Hampshire during a presidential election and meeting who's who in U.S. politics."

Matt Soper, LLM

Soper stepped down from his position as Orchard City trustee to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. This degree qualifies him to sit for the bar exam, something he was unable to do without an American law degree.

A 2003 graduate of Delta High School, Soper earned his LL.M. in public international law, with a focus on maritime piracy law, and LL.B. in law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Great Britain, in 2009 and 2011 respectively.

Soper earned a bachelor's degree in political science and marketing from Mesa State College in 2007. He is the son of Betty and Charles Soper of Delta.

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'Soper receives degree from UNH'. Delta County Independent. 29 May 2013 <http://deltacountyindependent.com/index.php/neighbors/milestones/people-in-the-news/36-milestones/people-in-the-news/6151-soper-receives-degree-from-unh>

What are the odds: High School friends reunited on same flight*

Bill Helmsing and Matt Soper randomly met on same flight a decade after graduating from high school together

Delta High School friends reunited on same flight from Boston to Denver. Captain Bill Helmsing, with the 1st BDE 10th Mountain Division, and Matt Soper, who is studying Intellectual Property law at the University of New Hampshire, had not seen each other for 10 years and were surprised to be flying home for the holidays together. 

Helmsing, a West Point graduate, is stationed in Ft. Drum, New York and is about to deploy to the Regional Command East in Afghanistan as a member of a Security Force Advise and Assist Team. 

Soper is an alumnus of Colorado Mesa University and the University of Edinburgh’s Faculty of Law and plans on sitting the New York Bar Exam in July 2013. Helmsing and Soper graduated from Delta High School in 2003.
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*'You Saw It', Grand Junction Daily Sentinel 28 February 2013: 8B

New Era at CMU will build on Mesa State legacy

Over the last eight years, Mesa State College has grown from a student population of 5,000 to pushing 10,000 with annual enrolment percentages in the double digits! Mesa State has gone from competing against state colleges within Colorado for students to now attracting students who otherwise would be attending major public institutions like the University of Colorado System, the University of California System and the University of Texas System.

The local economy greatly depends on the fresh influx of dollars which students from outside the western slope bring to the Grand Valley. The future of Mesa’s success will depend on more students from out-of-state and overseas subsidising the cuts to higher education from the legislature. A strategic name change is one step towards mitigating future negative impacts on the success of recent years.

Like many stakeholders with vested interests in the continued future success of Mesa State College, I was surprised in the name selected. It seemed the top four choices (none of which were considered by the Board of Trustees) from the stakeholder surveys would have been more natural. The tripartite test established by the college merited only one logical choice – Colorado Mesa University. My first impression was that the new name sounded weird. It seems a lauded educational institution should stand on its own merit without the crutch of a 150 year old state/territory name tacked onto the front.

It’s too bad Mesa didn't have a name like Harvard, as then the only change could have been replacing the word ‘college’ for ‘university’. Though, ‘Massachusetts Harvard University’ would have merited similar thoughts as expressed above.

The brand name of ‘Colorado’ is very powerful and as Governor Hickenlooper signs the legislative approved ‘Colorado Mesa University’ into law, a new era will begin. As expressed by the Sentinel’s Editorial Board – it’s time to get use to CMU (not Carnegie Mellon University). Confusion is sure to abound in the ensuing three to five years, as entity names such as ‘Colorado MESA’ (Mathematics, Engineering, Science and Achievement) is distinguished from ‘Colorado Mesa’ and recruiters explain CMU is the new MSC. One confusing point is certainly eliminated; future students will no longer mistake our ‘Mesa’ with Arizona’s or California’s Mesa Colleges.

As the dawning of the new future is here, Colorado Mesa University will be standing on the shoulders of a great educational legacy (gigantium humeris insidentes). A legacy I am proud to have been a part of as having served two terms on the College’s Board of Trustees.[1]

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[1] M Soper, 'New Era at CMU will build on Mesa State legacy' (Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: 13 May 2011); http://www.gjsentinel.com/opinion/articles/e-mail-letters-may-13-2011; accessed 14 May 2011 

Colorado Mesa University? Are you kidding me?

Colorado Mesa University was selected as the new name of Mesa State College by the Board of Trustees, subject to Colorado General Assembly approval. I am not impressed, as the name sounds more like an Internet program or one with an unnatural sequence of words.

My concerns are still valid, though at this stage irrelevant. The formula implemented for selecting a name was mathematically geared to produce the two finalists, as those were the only names which met the three-tier test of the naming criteria – heritage, geographic anchor, and brand equity and clarity. Just because you find a name or two which match the test, does not mean that name sounds like a good brand name.

During the survey period of the selection process I took part in the online survey and recall reading through the names of potential names and felt Colorado Mesa University sound like a lesser value than the rest, so was surprised when the Board selected it as the finalist. In my personal opinion, could the Board have chosen a weirder sounding name? Perhaps a different order of the words would sound more natural to the ears.

I mentioned the name to several of my colleagues here at the University of Edinburgh and they concurred that the name sounded more like a cheesy Internet “university” or fictitious location linked to Mesa Verde, rather than a lauded institution of higher education. Perhaps these are merely initial impressions which will fade as the institution rebrands and remarkets its image. Noting the history of Mesa State, it seems name changes happen rather frequently, so perhaps in 20 or 30 years the brand name and image will need tweaking once again to reflect its status as a research facility or specialist institution or perhaps the bequeathing of a substantial sum from a generous benefactor.

Perhaps my logic is wrong, but I find it difficult that the finalists from the surveys of stakeholders was thought flawed as their choices did not conform to the three-tier test established for selecting a name. It is too bad Mesa didn't have a name like Harvard, as then that way the only change could have been deleting the word college and replacing it with university. That said, if such a criteria had been used when Harvard made their name change a while ago, then it would have been something like Massachusetts Harvard University, so everyone would recognize the institution by the state name. Basically Mesa is wanting to ride the brand name of "Colorado", so that when surveys are done in Texas and California of potential students who have heard of the institution, a higher number will say yes, as they recognize the name Colorado and thus assume they have heard of the university.