Alumni oppose Australian university’s name-change proposal

An Australian university faces a fight with alumni over a proposal to rechristen itself on its 30th birthday.

Charles Sturt University, a sprawling institution of about 45,000 students scattered across 16 campuses and centres, is considering changing its name as part of a broader strategy to transform its courses, student experience, community engagement and communications.

Acting vice-chancellor John Germov said that the university was pursuing an “ambitious” growth agenda in a competitive higher education market. In a statement, Professor Germov stressed that no decision had yet been made and said that the university was consulting students, staff, alumni and the broader community “with great interest”.

“This refresh is not simply about changing a name or logo,” the statement says. “It is about ensuring we articulate clearly who we are and what we stand for…so that we stand out in a crowded tertiary environment.”

Located mainly in inland New South Wales, the institution is named after a British explorer whose expeditions overturned a 19th-century belief that Australia had an inland sea. CSU leadership favours a simple name change to Sturt University, although alternative monikers, including Wiradjuri – a grouping of Aboriginal peoples whose traditional lands encompass CSU’s major campuses – have also been suggested.

Professor Germov released his statement after a CSU alumni group criticised the proposal, in a petition that has attracted more than 5,000 signatures. “Changing the name erodes the identity, tradition and history of the previous generations who have attended, studied and worked at Charles Sturt University,” the petition says.

“It takes an endless amount of history to make a little tradition,” it adds, citing author Henry James. “We must keep the name and identity of our great university.”

Nearby experience suggests that CSU faces a tough time overcoming such sentiments. New Zealand’s Victoria University of Wellington tried to discard “Victoria” from its title last year, in an attempt to align itself more closely with its city and avoid confusion with similarly named institutions overseas.

The move was bitterly opposed by alumni, students and staff, and ultimately vetoed by the country’s education minister.

CSU is not the only Australian university with “Charles” in its name: the smaller Charles Darwin University, in the country’s far north, carries the name of a better-known 19th-century Briton. But CSU said it was more concerned that its institutional identity was being obscured by universities with soundalike acronyms such as USC, SCU and CDU.

“Everyone immediately shortens the name,” said CSU’s deputy vice-chancellor for students, Jenny Roberts. “There’s the University of the Sunshine Coast; there’s Southern Cross University; Charles Darwin. One-name universities don’t get shortened.”

Ms Roberts said the 30th anniversary of CSU’s 1989 establishment, from the merger of two regional colleges, would be an opportunity to assert its identity. “Our preferred suggestion around Sturt was not wanting to move away from our heritage but to talk about something strong and fresh and forward looking,” she said.

Cognizant of Victoria University of Wellington’s experience, CSU said that it had held preliminary discussions with New South Wales’ education minister. The minister, currently Rob Stokes, would need to approve any name change for the university, which was established under state legislation.

Ms Roberts said that CSU intended to make a firm decision on whether it would seek that approval by the end of February, giving it time to cement the change by its July anniversary.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com