Missouri State University is in Columbia, Mo.

By John P. Lictenegger and James C. Sterling

The University of Missouri opened in 1839. Over the years it has been known as the University of the State of Missouri, Missouri University, the University of Missouri, Missouri State University and sometimes just MU and Mizzou. Despite the fact "Missouri State University" is chiseled in stone in the state Capitol, members of the legislature think that it is a name they can give away to someone else in 2004.

Southwest Missouri State University has a bill before the legislature to change its name to Missouri State University, despite the fact the Missouri Constitution refers to only one state university, and that has never been questioned as being anything but MU. The ramifications of this name change are so numerous and significant that all of them cannot be covered in a short article.

If the legislature awards the name to the Springfield, Mo., school, it would immediately enjoy a statewide mission and would have a name that would be powerful in marketing for the recruitment of students and faculty and perhaps enhance the school's fund-raising capabilities.

So what's wrong with that?

This is a priceless asset for any university that carries this name. We believe the name belongs to the University of Missouri, and this is not the time to add a new level of higher education in this state.

The University of Missouri has seen its budget cut by $195 million during the past two legislative sessions. It is believed by many that this name change would take students from the campuses of peer institutions such as Southeast Missouri State University, Central Missouri State University and other regional universities.

Should this name be awarded to Southwest Missouri State?

We think not for a number of reasons.

The Morrill Act dedicated federal lands to the states to start the great "State Universities of our Nation." These great universities are called land-grant universities. The University of Missouri is one of them. What we know as the Columbia, Mo., campus of the University of Missouri was Missouri State University, and this name not only implies but stands for a land-grant university that has a broad mission including agriculture and engineering. This is recognized in academic circles nationwide.

Columbia was awarded the site of the university in 1839 after a thoughtful and vigorous bidding war among several Missouri cities. In short, the legislature in the 1830s knew then what we know now: that universities and the naming rights to universities are priceless assets of our state. In the legislature's wisdom the cities of Missouri were invited to submit proposals in the competition to land the university. Columbia won that bidding war fair and square, and the rest is history.

Gov. Bob Holden, the city fathers of Springfield, chamber of commerce types and the Southwest Missouri delegation of legislators now want the name Missouri State University lock, stock, and barrel with the stroke of a pen for Springfield.

No consideration would flow to the state, the University of Missouri or the citizens of this state. Naming rights to universities should not be political plums or awards. Private companies pay tens of millions of dollars just to get their name on a dome or stadium.

The advantage that would flow to Springfield with the award of the name Missouri State University would be enormous. The potential detriment to other state universities in Missouri is almost equally certain.

Missouri State University would demand master's-degree and doctoral programs duplicating the already underfunded programs in Columbia. A new second tier of university governance would be created by this statewide mission. Missouri State University would be the only school in this new second tier. Southeast Missouri State University and other regional universities would automatically drop to the third tier behind Missouri State University in perpetuity in recruiting power, funding and programs.

We often hear that Southwest Missouri State University should receive the name Missouri State University because of its enrollment. Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau could make a greater claim to the name if size were a criteria (we believe it should not be) because its enrollment is much higher per capita based on the population of Cape Girardeau than is Southwest Missouri State University compared to Springfield's population.

For these reasons and many others, Missouri State University should remain the priceless asset of Missouri. The name should not be transferred, sold or bartered at any price.

John P. Lictenegger, a Jackson lawyer, and James C. Sterling, a University of Missouri School of Journalism professor, served as curators of the University of Missouri in the late 1980s and early 1990s.