xxxxx Univ. --vs.-- The Univ. of xxxxxxxx

[HenHanna]

Why are some uni's The University of xxxxxxxx
and others xxxxxx University ?


e.g. The University of California at ...........


i think ... [U of xxxxxx] is the older format.


but Harvard Univ. is the oldest in the USA ?

[Rich Ulrich]

Post by HenHanna
Why are some uni's The University of xxxxxxxx
and others xxxxxx University ?

It seems pretty natural to me to say University of xxxx when
xxxx is a place. It does not work well for a person's name

Similarly xxxx University is natural when the xxxx is a person's
name, though I feel only a little strain to this ordering for a place.

Post by HenHanna
e.g. The University of California at ...........

California may have been the first to have branches named
that way. I seem to recall feeling it was novel.

My impression is that "at ..." has become pretty standard for
referring to branches of state university systems. IIRC, Texas
set up that sort of naming when the state legislature centralized
their funding for colleges and universities, creating at least a
couple of systems.

Texas Tech alumni were proud of their name and fought successfullly
against the proposed renaming to "Texas State University"; thus, the
odd variation, Texas Tech University.

Wiki -
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public
research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established
on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until
1969, it is the flagship institution of the five-institution Texas
Tech University System.

The larger Texas system is the UT system, based in Austin, having
9 universities and 5 medical facilities.

Post by HenHanna
i think ... [U of xxxxxx] is the older format.
but Harvard Univ. is the oldest in the USA ?

Wikipedia -- Harvard
Founded October 28, 1636, and named for its first benefactor, the
Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of
higher learning in the United States

[Peter Moylan]

Post by Rich Ulrich
Texas Tech alumni were proud of their name and fought successfullly
against the proposed renaming to "Texas State University"; thus,
the odd variation, Texas Tech University.

One Melbourne tertiary institution started in 1887 as the Working Men's
College. After a couple of name changes and mergers, it became the Royal
Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1960. When I taught there in 1967
(only one subject, as a casual teacher) it was considered to be the most
prestigious technical college in the state.

It is now called RMIT University. On its web site, it is not easy to
discover what RMIT stands for.

[lar3ryca]

Post by Peter Moylan

Post by Rich Ulrich
Texas Tech alumni were proud of their name and fought successfullly
against the proposed renaming to "Texas State University";  thus,
the odd variation, Texas Tech University.

One Melbourne tertiary institution started in 1887 as the Working Men's
College. After a couple of name changes and mergers, it became the Royal
Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1960. When I taught there in 1967
(only one subject, as a casual teacher) it was considered to be the most
prestigious technical college in the state.
It is now called RMIT University. On its web site, it is not easy to
discover what RMIT stands for.

I had quite a chuckle when an advertisement on TV spoke of an event
happening at the First Nations University here in Regina.

It's abbreviated name is "FNUniv", and the guy speaking called it
"F N univ", which sound exactly like 'eff'n univ'.

[Peter Moylan]

Post by lar3ryca

Post by Peter Moylan

Post by Rich Ulrich
Texas Tech alumni were proud of their name and fought
successfullly against the proposed renaming to "Texas State
University"; thus, the odd variation, Texas Tech University.

One Melbourne tertiary institution started in 1887 as the Working
Men's College. After a couple of name changes and mergers, it
became the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1960. When I
taught there in 1967 (only one subject, as a casual teacher) it
was considered to be the most prestigious technical college in the
state.
It is now called RMIT University. On its web site, it is not easy
to discover what RMIT stands for.

I had quite a chuckle when an advertisement on TV spoke of an event
happening at the First Nations University here in Regina.
It's abbreviated name is "FNUniv", and the guy speaking called it "F
N univ", which sound exactly like 'eff'n univ'.

Back in about 1980 the federal government here forced a lot of mergers
between tertiary institutions [1]. The claim was that larger
institutions were more cost-efficient, when all the evidence showed the
very opposite. It caused a lot of misery and was strongly opposed by the
institutions themselves, but it was pushed through anyway.

For a little while, it seemed that the amalgamated mess in northern NSW
was going to be called the Combined University of the Northern
Tablelands, but somebody noticed in time to change the name.

[1] At the time, I predicted that it would take fifty years to undo the
damage. I was wrong. The fifty years is nearly up, and the changes are
now irreversible. Morale in my own university is terrible; in hindsight,
I'm lucky to be out of it.

[Ted Heise]

On Mon, 23 Sep 2024 22:50:09 +1000,

Post by Peter Moylan

Post by Rich Ulrich
Texas Tech alumni were proud of their name and fought
successfullly against the proposed renaming to "Texas State
University"; thus, the odd variation, Texas Tech University.

One Melbourne tertiary institution started in 1887 as the
Working Men's College. After a couple of name changes and
mergers, it became the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
in 1960. When I taught there in 1967 (only one subject, as a
casual teacher) it was considered to be the most prestigious
technical college in the state.
It is now called RMIT University. On its web site, it is not
easy to discover what RMIT stands for.

As fate would have it, I was just talking with a friend who
graduated from RHIT (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology). He
informed me that the old joke (especially before the school became
coed) was that the abbreviation stood for "Rich Husbands in
Training."

[Kerr-Mudd, John]

On Mon, 23 Sep 2024 23:46:20 -0000 (UTC)

Post by Ted Heise
On Mon, 23 Sep 2024 22:50:09 +1000,

Post by Peter Moylan

Post by Rich Ulrich
Texas Tech alumni were proud of their name and fought
successfullly against the proposed renaming to "Texas State
University"; thus, the odd variation, Texas Tech University.

One Melbourne tertiary institution started in 1887 as the
Working Men's College. After a couple of name changes and
mergers, it became the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
in 1960. When I taught there in 1967 (only one subject, as a
casual teacher) it was considered to be the most prestigious
technical college in the state.
It is now called RMIT University. On its web site, it is not
easy to discover what RMIT stands for.

As fate would have it, I was just talking with a friend who
graduated from RHIT (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology). He
informed me that the old joke (especially before the school became
coed) was that the abbreviation stood for "Rich Husbands in
Training."

YHA=Your Husband Assured

[Tony Cooper]

On Mon, 23 Sep 2024 02:16:13 -0400, Rich Ulrich

Post by Rich Ulrich

Post by HenHanna
Why are some uni's The University of xxxxxxxx
and others xxxxxx University ?

It seems pretty natural to me to say University of xxxx when
xxxx is a place. It does not work well for a person's name
Similarly xxxx University is natural when the xxxx is a person's
name, though I feel only a little strain to this ordering for a place.

My alma mater is now "Indiana University". It was founded as "State
Seminary" in 1820, became "Indiana College" in 1828, and "Indiana
University" in 1838.

While a late-comer compared to Harvard, Indiana only became a state in
1816.

Post by Rich Ulrich
Wikipedia -- Harvard
Founded October 28, 1636, and named for its first benefactor, the
Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of
higher learning in the United States

Harvard was not recognized as a university until 1780.

[HenHanna]

Post by Tony Cooper
On Mon, 23 Sep 2024 02:16:13 -0400, Rich Ulrich

Post by Rich Ulrich

Post by HenHanna
Why are some uni's The University of xxxxxxxx
and others xxxxxx University ?

It seems pretty natural to me to say University of xxxx when
xxxx is a place. It does not work well for a person's name
Similarly xxxx University is natural when the xxxx is a person's
name, though I feel only a little strain to this ordering for a place.

My alma mater is now "Indiana University". It was founded as "State
Seminary" in 1820, became "Indiana College" in 1828, and "Indiana
University" in 1838.
While a late-comer compared to Harvard, Indiana only became a state in
1816.

(the) University of Indiana is the same as Indiana University.


Indiana State University (ISU) is a separate, independent
university located in Terre Haute, Indiana. --- While it's often
mentioned alongside IU due to their proximity and similar names, they
are distinct institutions.



to add to the confusion,

Purdue University is not part of Indiana University (IU).

IUPUI stands for Indiana University Purdue University
Indianapolis. It's a joint campus formed by Indiana University and
Purdue University, located in Indianapolis.

[Tony Cooper]

Post by HenHanna

Post by Tony Cooper
On Mon, 23 Sep 2024 02:16:13 -0400, Rich Ulrich

Post by Rich Ulrich

Post by HenHanna
Why are some uni's The University of xxxxxxxx
and others xxxxxx University ?

It seems pretty natural to me to say University of xxxx when
xxxx is a place. It does not work well for a person's name
Similarly xxxx University is natural when the xxxx is a person's
name, though I feel only a little strain to this ordering for a place.

My alma mater is now "Indiana University". It was founded as "State
Seminary" in 1820, became "Indiana College" in 1828, and "Indiana
University" in 1838.
While a late-comer compared to Harvard, Indiana only became a state in
1816.

(the) University of Indiana is the same as Indiana University.

To whom? Not to anyone who goes to I.U., went to I.U., or knows
anything about I.U..

It's true that (the) "University of Indiana" exists, but the full name
is (the) University of Indiana of Pennsylvania. It's a small
university (under 10,000 undergraduates) in Indiana, Pennsylvania.

Post by HenHanna
Indiana State University (ISU) is a separate, independent
university located in Terre Haute, Indiana. --- While it's often
mentioned alongside IU due to their proximity and similar names,

By whom? It's mentioned by some, but only as one of the many colleges
and universities in the state, and being in the same state as I.U..
That is the only connection. It's probably mentioned most as the
alma mater of Larry Bird and John Wooden, because they are two famous
names in basketball and Indiana is known as a basketball state.

Larry Bird, btw, grew up in French Lick, Indiana; a city known to be
less interesting than its name.
There is also a University of Southern Indiana in Evansville that was
formerly the Indiana State University-Evansville, but became an
independent entity in 1985.
More than one school in a state with a similar name is hardly
remarkable. Think Iowa State and University of Iowa, Oklahoma State
University and University of Oklahoma, University of California and
California State University and others.

You might also note there's a Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a
California University of Pennsylvania (aka PennWest California) in
California, Pennsylvania.

Post by HenHanna
to add to the confusion,
Purdue University is not part of Indiana University (IU).
IUPUI stands for Indiana University Purdue University
Indianapolis. It's a joint campus formed by Indiana University and
Purdue University, located in Indianapolis.

I don't know who is confused other than you. I.U. and Purdue share a
campus in Indianapolis. It's an expansion of what was just the
location of the I.U. Medical School.

[Athel Cornish-Bowden]

Post by HenHanna
Why are some uni's The University of xxxxxxxx
and others xxxxxx University ?
e.g. The University of California at ...........
i think ... [U of xxxxxx] is the older format.
but Harvard Univ. is the oldest in the USA ?

Sensible universities don't give a fuck. University of Oxford and
Oxford University are equally correct and both are used. Same with
Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh etc.

[Kerr-Mudd, John]

On Mon, 23 Sep 2024 17:54:29 +0200

Post by Athel Cornish-Bowden

Post by HenHanna
Why are some uni's The University of xxxxxxxx
and others xxxxxx University ?
e.g. The University of California at ...........
i think ... [U of xxxxxx] is the older format.
but Harvard Univ. is the oldest in the USA ?

Sensible universities don't give a fuck. University of Oxford and
Oxford University are equally correct and both are used. Same with
Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh etc.

Trefforest used to have a School of mines; it has since morphed into
Glamorgan Polytechnic, then University, and last I heard, was the
University of South Wales.

[Snidely]

Post by HenHanna
Why are some uni's The University of xxxxxxxx
and others xxxxxx University ?
e.g. The University of California at ...........
i think ... [U of xxxxxx] is the older format.
but Harvard Univ. is the oldest in the USA ?

Sensible universities don't give a fuck. University of Oxford and Oxford
University are equally correct and both are used. Same with Cambridge,
Durham, Edinburgh etc.

Do both variations appear on legal documents? Do both appear on
diplomas and awards?

/dps

[Rich Ulrich]

Post by Snidely

Post by HenHanna
Why are some uni's The University of xxxxxxxx
and others xxxxxx University ?
e.g. The University of California at ...........
i think ... [U of xxxxxx] is the older format.
but Harvard Univ. is the oldest in the USA ?

Sensible universities don't give a fuck. University of Oxford and Oxford
University are equally correct and both are used. Same with Cambridge,
Durham, Edinburgh etc.

Do both variations appear on legal documents? Do both appear on
diplomas and awards?

What appears on diplomas? - appears to be a cogent way to ask it.

My dad got a PhD in 1955 from Oklahoma A&M, which probably said
Agricultural and Mechanical on the diploma.

A couple of years later, they became Oklahoma State University -
Stillwater. That is part of a system with four more members. After
the name change, my dad was sent an updated diploma with the
new name. I have to say, I'm not 100% sold on the idea of
replacing the diploma.

Wiki, article on Texas A&M -
In 1963, to reflect the institution's expanded roles and academic
offerings, the Texas Legislature renamed the college Texas A&M
University; the letters "A&M" were retained as a tribute to the
university's former designation.

A friend who grew up in Idaho and California was surprised that
this "M" never stood for Mining, which is what he was used to for
the A&M's where he grew up.