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.