Johnson-Lyndon merger: What’s the school’s name?

In September, unification of Johnson and Lyndon state colleges was unanimously approved by the Vermont State Colleges board of trustees.

It takes effect in mid-2018.

But what will the school be called? It won’t, as some wags suggest, become Lyndon Johnson College, as if it were named for the late U.S. president.

But coming up with a suitable name isn’t easy.

The new school needs to promote its brand, and the right name is a big part of that effort. Discussions have started on both campuses about what to call the school, and the trustees are looking for a name recommendation by the end of this month.

Dr. Elaine Collins, the Johnson State president who will be head of the unified school, has joined interim Lyndon President Nolan Atkins and state colleges Chancellor Jeb Spaulding in fielding suggestions from each campus, while doing their own research into branding opportunities and other possibilities.

Last Friday, Spaulding hosted a naming session at Johnson State College with current students, faculty and alums. He will host another session at Lyndon State College on Monday at noon.

“There is no way we will come up with a name that makes everyone happy,” Spaulding said. “Some people feel strongly that the new unified institution should be a college, while others want it to be a university, and it can’t be both, for example.”

There are two schools of thought when it comes to the name.

The easiest solution would a name that rocks the boat as little as possible. The alternative is to think big, and come up with a name that will provide the most benefits five or ten years down the road.

The board have set criteria for the new name:

• “Vermont” must be featured prominently.

• The name of each campus must be included.

• There should be no confusion between the unified schools and the University of Vermont.

• The name should be concise, easy to remember, and lend itself to effective marketing.

Spaulding said he actually has a pretty good idea of what most people want in terms of college versus university, thanks to surveys. Earlier this fall, the state college system conducted an unscientific naming survey at each campus. Of about 475 responses, 57 percent favored university; 43 percent favored college.

The survey also showed a strong pride of place and deep connection to their region of Vermont. A significant number of respondents suggested names containing North, Kingdom, Northeast, etc. 

Another question is the importance of having “state” in the name.

“I know we are going to change the name,” Spaulding said. “Some people have asked that too; ‘Do we really need to change the name?’ The reality is, we are going to be a single unified, single accredited institution, and there needs to be a change. … Our name should reflect where we want to go in the future. We should not take the easy way out.”

Among names suggested at Johnson Friday were Vermont State University, Northern Vermont State University, Northern Vermont University, Vermont Collaborative University, and Vermont State College with campuses in Lyndon and Johnson.

Vermont State University was thrown out because, while Spaulding could see the argument for it, he doesn’t see the institution “growing more to become a full equivalent of Penn State. I think we want to stretch, but we need to be careful not to overdo it.” He also worried about confusion with the University of Vermont.

Tyrone Shaw, a Johnson State writing and literature professor, wants “state” to be prominent.

“We ought to wear that proudly,” Shaw said. “We have an important social mission. We all know that, and feel it, and that ought to be honored. The Legislature also needs to be aware that this is a state institution, and they are obliged to support us. Although they run away from that obligation repeatedly, we need to keep holding it up.”

Spaulding said he was inclined to agree, but others didn’t feel that strongly about “state.”

Sharon Twigg, also from Johnson’s literature department, agreed with Shaw philosophically, but not practically.

Castleton University — also in the state colleges system — recently removed “state” from its name, and Twigg said people seem to find that more appealing.

“I think that students, and others, perceive a state college as a fallback or safety school,” Twigg said. “State, for whatever reason, does not play that well as a brand.”

Miles Smith, Johnson’s assistant athletics director, countered that removing “state” may be intimidating and less attractive to students who are less strong academically.

Brady Rainville, a member of the Student Government Association, didn’t feel strongly about “state,” but he likes a regional connotation, and prefers university over college.

“We are becoming a different entity, and having Vermont State College seems so similar that it doesn’t differentiate from what we are doing now, and if we want to change and grow, university would help facilitate that,” he said.

Most people thought that Northern Vermont State University-Johnson just too long, and the abbreviation should be reduced to three or four letters at most. For instance, Northern Vermont University would be NVU-Johnson or NVU-Lyndon.

Johnson alumnus Jeff Capen proposed Vermont Collaborative University, because the name would leave more room for future partnership among the state college system and other entities. The name, he said, would also welcome a more creative approach to designing programs.

Capen is generally against branding the institution as northern, because the word often carries with it images of cold or remote areas.

Not everyone agreed.

“What I like about northern is it finally took two distinct campuses and pulled them together,” said Carolyn D’Luz. “I think that is what we’ve been looking for. Whatever we call it, though, I’m just happy I have a job, and still will.”

Spaulding is going to collect as many opinions as he can from Johnson and Lyndon before making a recommendation to the board Nov. 30.