Faculty Senate Discusses Institutional Name Change

By Ryan Simonovich

The Fort Lewis College Faculty Senate discussed a potential name change to the college at their twice-monthly meeting on Thursday.

Mark Jastorff, FLC vice president for advancement, gave an update on what the name change committee has been doing. The school is working with Chelsey Baker-Hauck Brand Strategy to help with the potential change, he said.  

At first, the committee’s plan was to determine if the word university should be in the name, Jastorff said. They realized that the answer to that question was probably obvious.

“Let’s go on an assumption that university should be part of our name,” Jastorff said.

Now, the committee’s job is to identify potential names and determine if a name change is necessary and makes financial sense, he said. A name change would have to be approved by the Board of Trustees, he said.

The committee plans to survey various stakeholders on the name change including alumni, businesses in the community and faculty, Jastorff said. The committee has already talked with key members in the native american community to determine if the name Fort Lewis is a negative or positive to native americans, he said.

There will be survey questions drafted by next week, he said. There should be data from the survey and outside research to analyze by the end of December, he said.

A name change will not solve FLC’s problems of declining enrollment, Jastorff said. The school needs to build a strong brand around the name, he said.

Purgatory Resort is an example of a failed name change, he said. Purgatory ski resort changed their name to Durango Mountain Resort, but they recently changed back to Purgatory Resort because Durango Mountain Resort was not great from a marketing point of view, Jastorff said.  

It has not yet been determined how a proposed name change will be discussed with candidates for the college presidency, Jastorff said.

Jastorff, the convener of the committee, has been through name changes at Black Hills State University and Metropolitan State University of Denver.  

The Senate also discussed and approved by consent seven proposed changes for the 2018-19 course catalog.

BA 254, COMP 252, HIST 307 and PHIL 271 are distance education, or online courses. ART 390 is an existing course to be offered as a study abroad program. SPA 351 is a new course serving as a formal internship for Spanish students. The sociology department wants to change the name of their major to sociology and human services.

Also discussed at the meeting was an amendment to the Faculty Senate handbook. The change would create a policy for faculty who want to step down and work part-time. There would be a formal process for requesting part-time work, and the faculty member would be ensured equal treatment as a full-time faculty member.

There are two senator at-large positions up for re-election. There are three nominations for these positions, Michael Fry said.

Follow Ryan Simonovich on twitter @Ryanasimono for regular news updates. Stay up to date with FLC campus news by following @flcindependent and checking theindyonline.com.