University of Western Ontario changed its name to Western University

[mooncakez]

Article Link (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/university-of-western-ontario-gets-a-new-worldlier-name/article2316617/)

What do you guys think?
Do you guys like it? or dislike it?

[biee]

I like it, I think that's much better.

WU > UWO

[jz1n]

Do not want.

[RenoV6]

Honestly I don't like either name, and that's not because I belong to their rival.

UWO is weird, and western university just sounds weird.

[redgrandam]

People often say 'UWO' here. To say 'UW' sounds weird. Recently I think more just call it 'western', western university seems odd because of the change, however I'm sure the new 'western' will be the only abbreviation.

[enhanced]

Honestly I don't like either name, and that's not because I belong to their rival.

UWO is weird, and western university just sounds weird.

Well don't call it that. Do you call Yale or Princeton "Yale University" or "Princeton University"? While obviously UWO doesn't have the same worldwide recognition, this is what they are trying to achieve. They want you to call them "Western" and have that name synonymous with this institution in Canada.

Guess what? We've been calling them "Western" here in Canada anyways. See what they did there? Now they want the rest of the world to do the same. I see what they are trying to do and I applaud their efforts.

Personally, as an outsider waiting to attend Western Law this fall, I'm fine with the overall change. You can see that uniformity is something that was prioritized with this refresh and the results are much better (the faculty logos are very nice and consistent). The coat of arms being the main logo gives it a traditional feel. It seems like they desire to be more like U of T, Queens, Waterloo and McGill (coat of arms logo) than York or Ryerson (modern logos).

As for the name itself, again, you can see that they want "Western" to emulate the same feelings as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia etc. and I am fine with that attitude. They didn't have much choice with this naming scheme though as they obviously couldn't be "London University" or "Ontario University". "Western" is just the best fit as that's the name adopted by the masses already like I said above. I will miss the UWO acronym though as WU really means nothing.

It's a bold move by Western and I think it will work out in the long run if they stick to it. The backlash is fierce though.

New logo and colors: http://communications.uwo.ca/brandnew/

[tng11]

People are thinking way too much into this name change. UWO's always been referred to informally as "Western" in Canada, and it's not like the name change itself is going to bring it up in the world rankings.

[Simaahoy]

I support the name change. About time

[Squiggles]

Why is this thread labelled "GTA"?

[windforcexx28]

Their main goal is to stay consistent with what people know them by, which is "Western". Unless you went to the school, most people don't know that "UWO" is what they traditionally labelled themselves as.

I like the new design as it gives a more "modern" kind of feeling without sacrificing it's identity as a well-established university.

[misyan]

this is stupid, you will never attract international students by changing your name. How about actually put some money into research so you can start bragging about something else other than that HIV vaccine? or stop hiring seasonal lecturers that has other jobs/priorities and are never available after the class (and definitely won't be available after the school year for reference letter purposes) ?

[Syne]

this is stupid, you will never attract international students by changing your name. How about actually put some money into research so you can start bragging about something else other than that HIV vaccine? or stop hiring seasonal lecturers that has other jobs/priorities and are never available after the class (and definitely won't be available after the school year for reference letter purposes) ?

Yeah, HIV vaccine is no big deal I guess.

How about developing the first (and still used) birth control (pill)? (http://www.fleetwoodcountrycruizein.com/plunkett_foundation/earlplunkett.html)

I admit, I did have some advance knowledge of this, although the details were a very, very well guarded secret up until launch. I guess Western haters will keep hating regardless.

[misyan]

Yeah, HIV vaccine is no big deal I guess.

How about developing the first (and still used) birth control (pill)? (http://www.fleetwoodcountrycruizein.com/plunkett_foundation/earlplunkett.html)

I admit, I did have some advance knowledge of this, although the details were a very, very well guarded secret up until launch. I guess Western haters will keep hating regardless.

um, I am actually a current western student, and I meant the research UWO is doing now, there is not a lot compared to Queens or Mcmaster, and certainly not UofT. This is why UWO is low on international rankings, we are not really a research focus university, just selling the "best student experience" won't get UWO to the top.

[imflying12]

Western university sounds better, no need for that ontario part at all.

[xlc_88]

I didn't go to Western for undergrad but Western University sounds pretty good. It looks weird though because the original name was based on its location. "Western" doesn't really tell you much if someone is wondering where the University is in Canada.

[SoroSuub1]

People often say 'UWO' here. To say 'UW' sounds weird. Recently I think more just call it 'western', western university seems odd because of the change, however I'm sure the new 'western' will be the only abbreviation.

To say 'UW' would also make it the same as Waterloo. ;)

[xlc_88]

To say 'UW' would also make it the same as Waterloo. ;)

Wouldn't the new abbreviation be WU = Western University?

University of Windsor also uses the UW abbreviation. :)

[Stinger]

"Western University", seriously...


Just another example of Ontarians thinking nothing else exists in Canada outside of Ontario? :facepalm:

You don't for one second think that someone may associate the name "Western University" as based in say, oh I don't know, a Western Province.
Maybe that's what they want. Foreign students thinking they are getting the whole Vancouver or Alberta experience, then when they get here... SURPRISE SUCKA!

[TheRed]

Lame University

[DrXenon]

You know they're getting desperate when they start changing names like Altria or XE. They offered me a big scholarship back in the day but I ended up going to a better school for less money.

[VintagePhick]

That's lame because if I'm not from nor live in Canada and someone tells me they go to Western uni I'm thinking "Western Europe, Western Tennessee, Western Canada, Western what"?

I fail to see how this makes their brand more global.

[mooncakez]

Why is this thread labelled "GTA"?

Sorry I live in GTA and I automatically put them on without even thinking

[funnykid]

"Western University", seriously...


Just another example of Ontarians thinking nothing else exists in Canada outside of Ontario? :facepalm:

You don't for one second think that someone may associate the name "Western University" as based in say, oh I don't know, a Western Province.
Maybe that's what they want. Foreign students thinking they are getting the whole Vancouver or Alberta experience, then when they get here... SURPRISE SUCKA!

It's because UWO was actually called "Western University of London Ontario" back in the late 1800's, and "Western" was what stuck with most people up until today. It's a little unfortunate in regards to the actual geography of the school in relation to how the boundaries evolved, but it's seriously not that bad. Don't take the name by its definition, take the name as a brand like "McGill" or "Queen's".

[enhanced]

It's because UWO was actually called "Western University of London Ontario" back in the late 1800's, and "Western" was what stuck with most people up until today. It's a little unfortunate in regards to the actual geography of the school in relation to how the boundaries evolved, but it's seriously not that bad. Don't take the name by its definition, take the name as a brand like "McGill" or "Queen's".

This exactly.

I don't see anyone harping on Columbia University (located in Manhattan) for not being in the city of Columbia which is the state capital of South Carolina. Or how about not being in the country of Columbia in South America?

It's just a name with little meaning much like many university names.

[kenchau66]

This exactly.

I don't see anyone harping on Columbia University (located in Manhattan) for not being in the city of Columbia which is the state capital of South Carolina. Or how about not being in the country of Columbia in South America?

It's just a name with little meaning much like many university names.

Columbia is distinguishable from Western b/c Columbia one of the best universities in the world and very well known whereas Western isn't. I'll wager that even Canadians would confuse Western with a place or another university, rather than Columbia with another place/university. In my opinion, UWO shouldn't have changed their name b/c it impedes their brand recognition as a great university; the name having a history of more than a hundred years of excellence.

As for university names having little "meaning", admittedly, they may have no literal meaning, but it is a name brand that counts. Would you say Harvard, Yale, and Princeton have little meaning in terms of reputation?

Not many people would confuse Columbia with Colombia in South America because they are spelled differently.

[enhanced]

Columbia is distinguishable from Western b/c Columbia one of the best universities in the world and very well known whereas Western isn't. I'll wager that even Canadians would confuse Western with a place or another university, rather than Columbia with another place/university. In my opinion, UWO shouldn't have changed their name b/c it impedes their brand recognition as a great university; the name having a history of more than a hundred years of excellence.

Not many people would confuse Columbia with Colombia in South America because they are spelled differently.

Western shouldn't be prejudiced on it's name because it's less well known. It's silly to think that only renowned schools can have names not barring their correct geography. I guarantee that the "geography" crowd would still be up in arms if UWO did the rebrand as a world recognized school. Or, how about you think of Western's rebrand as a decision for the future? I bet the "Western University" moniker makes a lot of sense in the year 2090 where people would care less about it's geography and think of it simply as a name, much like "Columbia University". Western is trying to be Columbia University and it has to start some where. This is obviously a decision for the long term.


As for university names having little "meaning", admittedly, they may have no literal meaning, but it is a name brand that counts. Would you say Harvard, Yale, and Princeton have little meaning in terms of reputation?

You're exactly right -- it's the brand that counts, not the meaning (such as Western part of Canada). That's pretty much my argument in it's entirety. Western wants to create it's brand with the word "Western" and silly Canadian geography, or the fact that people could get confused shouldn't matter -- it's just a brand. They don't want "UWO" or "Western Ontario University" or "that school in London, Ontario" to be it's international image. They want the word "Western" to be, which is why it makes sense to rebrand the entire name in hopes that it will some day be synonymous worldwide with this institution.

Oh and my fault on the Colombia spelling. Spoke too quickly there.

[kenchau66]

Western shouldn't be prejudiced on it's name because it's less well known. It's silly to think that only renowned schools can have names not barring their correct geography. I guarantee that the "geography" crowd would still be up in arms if UWO did the rebrand as a world recognized school. Or, how about you think of Western's rebrand as a decision for the future? I bet the "Western University" moniker makes a lot of sense in the year 2090 where people would care less about it's geography and think of it simply as a name, much like "Columbia University". Western is trying to be Columbia University and it has to start some where. This is obviously a decision for the long term.

You should read the second part to my response before reading this one.

Renowned schools can have generic names such as Columbia and Oxford because nobody would confuse them with other institutions. I believe that the recognition of a school's academic reputation and its brand name are highly positively correlated and function concurrently. And if one of them changes, in this case the brand name, the reputation will go down with it or starts fresh. However, Western is trying to achieve this renown status by changing its name rather than focusing on things that have made schools like Columbia and Oxford famous (faculty hiring, research etc.). In other words, I think Western is trying to take the easy way out. Moreover, I think Western's case is distinguishable from Columbia/Oxford because Western as a name is much more generic than Columbia/Oxford, but this is inherently subjective.


You're exactly right -- it's the brand that counts, not the meaning (such as Western part of Canada). That's pretty much my argument in it's entirety. Western wants to create it's brand with the word "Western" and silly Canadian geography, or the fact that people could get confused shouldn't matter -- it's just a brand. They don't want "UWO" or "Western Ontario University" or "that school in London, Ontario" to be it's international image. They want the word "Western" to be, which is why it makes sense to rebrand the entire name in hopes that it will some day be synonymous worldwide with this institution.

Oh and my fault on the Colombia spelling. Spoke too quickly there.

This is just my opinion now.

I think the probable confusion among the masses is going to play a significant role in how people perceive Western. It seems like the absence of confusion is necessary for the re-branding to work. In other words, if people are confused about Western with another institution, then they can't achieve the objective for their re-branding, which is international recognition (LSAT you know this, this is just for the other people reading). The reason being people may affiliate Western with lower ranked institutions, thus lowering their reputation/recognition. An example of this would be Penn and Penn State, when most people say they go to Penn, the immediate following question is "Penn State?". Admittedly, there is no objective evidence to ascertain whether this makes a difference in Penn's reputation, but I personally think it does. Since Western is such a generic name, I believe the people external to Ontario, notwithstanding the even more probable and heightened confusion on the international stage, would most likely be confused with "Western". Therefore, I don't think their re-branding will work.

Alternatively, I think Western should focus their efforts more on research, faculty hiring, international marketing etc. like all the other renowned institutions have done rather than re-branding an already nationally well-known name in order to attempt to achieve their international recognition objective.

[nauru]

The University of Oxford is frequently confused with other institutions, particularly Oxford Brookes University which is also located in Oxford.

[kenchau66]

The University of Oxford is frequently confused with other institutions, particularly Oxford Brookes University which is also located in Oxford.

The issue is whether a renowned institution like Oxford would be confused with other institutions on the international scale, in this case, I would subjectively say it wouldn't.

However, in support of my point, Oxford is distinguishable from Western because Western is no where near as famous as Oxford, therefore "Western" will likely cause confusion on the international stage, thus impeding its objective of international recognition.

[nauru]

The issue is whether a renowned institution like Oxford would be confused with other institutions on the international scale, in this case, I would subjectively say it wouldn't.

However, in support of my point, Oxford is distinguishable from Western because Western is no where near as famous as Oxford, therefore "Western" will likely cause confusion on the international stage, thus impeding its objective of international recognition.

Foreigners get the two mixed up all the time. Including Americans and Canadians. I've seen in happen.

[kenchau66]

Foreigners get the two mixed up all the time. Including Americans and Canadians. I've seen in happen.

Foreigners get Koreans and Filipinos mixed up all the time. Including Americans and Canadians. I've seen [in] happen.

[funnykid]

Just curious: To those of you who are insisting that Western should be investing more on research, faculty, and teaching, are they sacrificing these areas when pursuing their rebranding? I thought Western just made headlines with the first FDA-approved HIV vaccine. If they are purusing both academic excellence and rebranding simultaneously, what's the big problem? Wouldn't you rather have the rebrand happen BEFORE big new discoveries are recognized so that the new name is what is reported in major media outlets instead of the old one?

[enhanced]

You should read the second part to my response before reading this one.

Renowned schools can have generic names such as Columbia and Oxford because nobody would confuse them with other institutions. I believe that the recognition of a school's academic reputation and its brand name are highly positively correlated and function concurrently. And if one of them changes, in this case the brand name, the reputation will go down with it or starts fresh. However, Western is trying to achieve this renown status by changing its name rather than focusing on things that have made schools like Columbia and Oxford famous (faculty hiring, research etc.). In other words, I think Western is trying to take the easy way out. Moreover, I think Western's case is distinguishable from Columbia/Oxford because Western as a name is much more generic than Columbia/Oxford, but this is inherently subjective.

This is just my opinion now.

I think the probable confusion among the masses is going to play a significant role in how people perceive Western. It seems like the absence of confusion is necessary for the re-branding to work. In other words, if people are confused about Western with another institution, then they can't achieve the objective for their re-branding, which is international recognition (LSAT you know this, this is just for the other people reading). The reason being people may affiliate Western with lower ranked institutions, thus lowering their reputation/recognition. An example of this would be Penn and Penn State, when most people say they go to Penn, the immediate following question is "Penn State?". Admittedly, there is no objective evidence to ascertain whether this makes a difference in Penn's reputation, but I personally think it does. Since Western is such a generic name, I believe the people external to Ontario, notwithstanding the even more probable and heightened confusion on the international stage, would most likely be confused with "Western". Therefore, I don't think their re-branding will work.

Alternatively, I think Western should focus their efforts more on research, faculty hiring, international marketing etc. like all the other renowned institutions have done rather than re-branding an already nationally well-known name in order to attempt to achieve their international recognition objective.

Reputation and brand name definitely work together but I think it's very far fetched to think that a slight rebranding will render the university's achievements/reputation/prestige for over a century moot. It isn't as if they chose a new word to rebrand with; they simply chose to rebrand with the name that the majority of people refer to them by anyways. If anyone does have the "hey, where or what is Western University?" moment, it will tide over once the initial transition period is over. Basically, give it a few months or even a year and everyone will know Western University is the University of Western Ontario -- that is, if they even knew about UWO at all.

As for the suitability of the word "Western" as a viable brand name, I don't see at all a problem with it. You mention confusion but I really don't understand what they could be confused with. High-schoolers and Canadians in general won't be (and if they are, again, give it some time) so we'll address the international crowd and I fail to see it here as well. I am curious on which mainstream institution in the world the name "Western University" can be confused with? Which lower ranked institution would they be confused with to the degree Penn and Penn State are? Are you saying that recognition for the word "Western" as in "hey, I go to Western" is difficult for recognition because it's too generic of a term, therefore causing confusion? If so, we've already established that the word is only as strong as the brand and even if you consider Western's brand too weak internationally to brand themselves with a generic name, they gotta start somewhere.

Like funnykid mentioned, when would the a good time for them to adopt the new name? It certainly wouldn't be after they have established themselves because that would absolutely confuse everyone and devalue their new moniker. If you think long term (which is what they are doing), like into a few centuries from now, then rebranding sooner is much better than later. Like I said, in the year 2090 or 2150 with decades of hearing the name "Western", it will be synonymous with this institution if they continue to improve their image.

And this finally brings me to your point about them "taking the easy way out". Like funnykid pretty much covers, what gave you the assumption that rebranding precludes Western from focusing on research, hiring and academic excellence? That focusing on one requires sacrificing the other? No one said that their purpose for the name change was to achieve instant renowned status without any other commitments. The rebrand is just a single element in their overall continuous strive for world recognition supported by research, faculty hiring etc. Like the word that I've used many times through these responses, the notion of "long term" is key here and is one that was emphasized in Western's press release about the change.

This is step one of many steps.

[vaportrails]

It's called Western now because of the Time Zone they're in.

Wait..

[Jyeatbvg69]

lmfao...admin are idiots. Do they know what slang or short-form is?

in b4 Wilfrid Laurier University renames to Laurier University
in b4 Dalhousie renames to Dal
in b4 Ryerson renames to Rye-High ;)

Honestly, Western University doesn't sound good at all and IMO doesn't make the university more international.

[Jyeatbvg69]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/401342_2479378478245_1666020177_1955914_215943300_ n.jpg

[epiphano]

I am curious on which mainstream institution in the world the name "Western University" can be confused with?

Northwestern perhaps?

[nauru]

Well there's these:

Western University (http://www.wu.edu.az/)
Western University (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_University_%28Kansas%29)
University Canada West (http://www.ucan.ca/)
Western International University (http://www.west.edu/)
Western University of Health Sciences (http://www.westernu.edu/)

Wikipedia disambiguation for Western University (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_University)