The Daily Pennsylvanian :: Guest Columnist: Noam Harel | Penn needs a new name to get away from state-school image

There has never been a better time for current or past Penn students to puff our chests out when we say, "I go to Penn" or "I went to Penn." In only a dozen years, Penn has transformed itself from an Ivy doormat that admitted more than half of its applicants into a powerhouse that has reached as high as No. 4 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. To the nation's best-qualified high schoolers, we are a safety school no more.

But despite this incredible makeover, two huge, lingering flaws will prevent Penn from ever breaking into the Top Three: Money and name recognition. Penn has only the 71st-largest endowment per student in the nation, putting us way behind the Top Three in the race to convert all undergraduate financial aid into grants. A new capital campaign is gearing up to address this issue. But unless we address Penn's name-recognition problem first, we will never be able to catch up to our sister Ivies in the money race.

Sure, it probably happens less frequently than it used to, but each of us has had to explain countless times that we're not Penn State. And trust me, this mistaken identity continues to occur at fellow Ivy and other top-tier institutions as well. Obviously, name recognition isn't a new problem at the University of Pennsylvania, nor is it one that the administration doesn't recognize. Penn's marketing machine has been trying to optimize our school's "brand" for decades. Past failed attempts included "UPenn," "Pennsylvania," "U of P," and the current favorite, "Penn." But we're kidding ourselves - no variation of the name "University of Pennsylvania" can prevent the natural inclination to assume "State School." No state school, not Berkeley, not Michigan, has the reputation of a Harvard, Yale or Princeton. And who can deny that "Rutgers" has a better ring to it than "University of New Jersey?" Even Princeton got its act straight when it changed its name from "the College of New Jersey" in the 1890s. If we want to permanently crash the Top Three's party, Penn must rid itself of a state school name.

Would changing our name be disruptive? Would it confuse high-school applicants, professional and graduate-school admissions committees and prospective employers? Would we be ridiculed by the press and our Ivy peers? Yes, of course we would - but not forever. In fact, not even for 10 years, which would represent less than 0.4 percent of our school's history.

And what would we gain? In both the short and long run, better name recognition. As alums from the early 1990s can attest, any attention, positive or negative, is good attention. The infamous Water Buffalo incident earned Penn national scorn, but at the same time was one of many factors that helped propel us from the Ivy outhouse to the brink of pushing Yale out of the Top Three. It's time to stir up the pot again.

Now that I have surely created unanimous consent to making our Penn sweatshirts passe, the next question is, what name should Penn take? The most obvious choice would be Benjamin Franklin University. This name was co-opted in 1925 by a school in Washington, D.C., that has since gone defunct, making the name available again. More intriguingly, I offer a solution that would probably offend every other great Quaker, but would likely please Ben himself by killing two birds with one stone:

The University of Pennsylvania should auction off its naming rights to the highest acceptable bidder.

Sunoco School? Turner Braincast System? Google U? So be it. Would we be selling out? Yes, to a degree. But along with the ridicule would come at least $1 billion, up front. And behind the scenes, our great institution could set appropriate conditions for the privilege of naming rights: A 100-plus year commitment from the bidder; total independence from the naming entity - all that's for sale is the name, not the curriculum, not the five-year plans, not the purchasing or vending contracts. Bidders with unsavory practices such as substandard overseas working conditions, illegal environmental pollution or the like would be rejected by a University-wide committee.

Now, some of you may disagree with renaming our school, especially selling it off to the highest acceptable bidder. You may even have very good counter-arguments. But please, rather than just turning or crumpling this page, give the issue some thought and respond with your own ideas. Just don't try to convince me that No. 4 is good enough.

By changing its name, Penn would have to pay the price of a few years of negative publicity and the scorn of many of its alumni. In return, we'd fill our two biggest needs to break into our rightful place among the Top Three: money and name recognition.

We'd have lots of both.

Noam Harel is a 1992 College and 2000 Medicine alumnus. He served as a Daily Pennsylvanian sports editor in 1991.

Comments (40)

Penn must continue current enrolment politics; use the opportunities opening with the admission policies revisions at Harvard and Princeton, and pick up a few more overachievers. . And alumni current and future shall not forget their alma mater and keep endowment fund growing. Everybody shall be proud with historic University of Pennsylvania name and don�?t be worry with intelligent level of the people who are mixing PENN with Penn State. Do not brake what is not broken.

Penn Dad: you, sir, are an idiot. You can't spell and your grammar is atrocious. Way to further sully PENN's good name. LOL!!

Michigan and Michigan State (as well as Florida and Florida State) have identical image issues but they don't elevate them to the level of psychic crisis the Penn does. The image of Penn (or its brand, to use a more fashionable phrase) will be considerbly enhanced by the postal lands expansion and the soon-to-be realized new playing feels. At that point the place is going to start to resemble Harvard (stately old football stadium on a broad field near the river), and at that point Penn ought to be satisfied.

Thanks for the correction to my embarrassing error. And keep the comments coming! This flaming was so unpredictable... [QUOTE id="1bb6ce00-447a-406c-a429-3a6cc7d0077f"]Obviously your Ivy education is paying off, Noam. Ten years out of a 266 year heritage (based on the founding of the Charity School of Philadelphia trust) is 3.7% of Penn's history, not less than 0.4%. You have just made every Harvard student and alumnus chuckle at your "inferior" education. Way to go.[/QUOTE]

I went to Penn. My brother goes to The College of NJ. We take offense at your categorization of his school, which happens to be quite well-known.

Clearly Mr. Harel has no clue what he's talking about. I mean, the guy took 8 years to graduate from medical school, why should anyone read what he writes, assuming those Penn students know how to read anyway! When I went to Rutgers, I mean College of New Jersey, I mean Princeton, I was proud of the name of my school, although I was prouder of my mohawk and the fact that I didn't do any work during football season. And boy did it pay off. And don't forget half of Ben Franklin U's team couldn't get accepted to Princeton. Gotta go hang out with Wayne Chrebet. Keith "59 yards" Elias Princeton 1994

I think what needs to be done is to place the name "Penn" so that it undeniably means "University of Pennsylvania". The only problem is that it is associated with Penn State, but with adequate publicity this could be changed. In any case, if the university decided to change its name, then "Franklin University" would be better than "Benjamin Franklin University". Then, the short name would be just "Franklin". Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Franklin.

I made peace with the confusion a long time ago. Most people who are going to be remotely impressed that I went to Penn know that when I say "Penn" or "UPenn", I don't mean Penn State. Employers and grad school admissions officers know that Penn and Penn State aren't one and the same. And don't HYP have a death grip on the top three spots in US News anyway? I don't buy that our name has anything to do with our position.

Penn could have and should have changed the name of the entire school to Wharton University when Joseph Wharton started the B-school. Bam, image problem solved as we have our very own WASPy and unmistakable name. And it would have been almost a decade before the college of new jersey became princeton.

To offended Melody: Didn't College of New Jersey once exist as Trenton State? No doubt it's better well-known now than previously. You're lack of sense of humor (let alone self esteem) makes me think that you weren't smart enough to get into Penn in the first place. For the record, that wasn't a knock on TCNJ; Dr. Noam merely stated that Princeton's NAME became more unique in 1890, not that disassociating with Trenton State (whose name history is below) was the point, at all. 1855 New Jersey State Normal School 1908 New Jersey State Normal School at Trenton 1929 New Jersey State Teachers College and State Normal School at Trenton 1937 New Jersey State Teachers College at Trenton 1958 Trenton State College 1996 The College of New Jersey

As a proud 02' graduate; I say leave the name as it is. Quite frankly the folks who confuse Penn State with The Unversity of Pennsylvania, obviously do not get out much; and hence it is not worth your time to make the distinction for them. I have found in my travels this: those who matter in the world; already know what the glaring distinction is between the two schools.

This aricle is the most obnoxious thing I've read since the DP's article that Bookstore sponsored "Not Penn State" shirts were a good idea. Some things to consider - 1. Who cares if we're ranked #4, #7, or #15? Seriously, how, in any way, does that affect your life? I'm shocked at how seriously some people take this stupid little number. News flash - the number will not change your college experience. It will not make it better, worse, more fun, less fun than if Penn were two places higher or two lower. Maybe instead of worrying about how our education ranks compared to Princeton, Harvard, Duke, Berkley, and Penn State, lets focus internally on how we can get the most out of our short time here. 2. There is a reason people get confuse Penn with Penn State and it's NOT because they are stupid or uninformed. Penn State has over 400,000 alumni, including the largest alumni association IN THE WORLD. Oh, and I'm sure a lot of national exposure on Saturday afternoons has its affect as well. Penn State graduates, just as Penn grads, are proud of their education and collegiate experiences. So lets lighten up when we're asked, "oh, you mean Penn State?" because there is a reason people confuse the two based on numbers and exposure alone, and not based on any uneducated expectation.

This article hardly merits a response. Noam, I'm surprised you'd go through the effort to be a 'guest opinion writer' and submit this drivel. There is no conceivable way that Penn would change it's name. It's just about as likely as a corporation coughing up your ever so well thought out (insert Dr. Evil pinky finger here) $1 Billion Dollars for naming rights. The University of Pennsylvania is renowned the world over and Penn is a perfectly fine moniker. Go back to sports writing.

Alexander said it best. I find that it's a wonderful barometer of the people I meet. [QUOTE id="94284405-fc45-455d-92eb-7a1ade3dc870"]As a proud 02' graduate; I say leave the name as it is. Quite frankly the folks who confuse Penn State with The Unversity of Pennsylvania, obviously do not get out much; and hence it is not worth your time to make the distinction for them. I have found in my travels this: those who matter in the world; already know what the glaring distinction is between the two schools.[/QUOTE]

*************** "The infamous Water Buffalo incident earned Penn national scorn, but at the same time was one of many factors that helped propel us from the Ivy outhouse to the brink of pushing Yale out of the Top Three. It's time to stir up the pot again." *************** Indeed! In fact, it was that Water Buffalo incident that led me to choose Penn over Princeton. "By golly," I exclaimed to no one in particular on a balmy Sunday morning in 1994, "Fair Harvard has her crimson Old Yale her colors too, But for dear Pennsylvan-i-a They have Yiddish speaking bigots and over-sensitive Sorrority girls, and inept administrators. I choose the Red and Blue!" I think you are on to something, Dr. Harel. Perhaps if we properly marketed our rapist professor,for example, we surely would have broken into the top three. Then my life would be different: women would love me; money would spontaneously generate in my pockets; and I'd get a Toyata Prius at below cost. I think we keep the Penn name but align our brand with the venerable razor manufacturer--Penn Gillette University!

i miss dunphy... well done young, er, coach-missing-person. [QUOTE id="b180b923-1507-4cae-8623-8a9d2ac28031"]*************** "The infamous Water Buffalo incident earned Penn national scorn, but at the same time was one of many factors that helped propel us from the Ivy outhouse to the brink of pushing Yale out of the Top Three. It's time to stir up the pot again." *************** Indeed! In fact, it was that Water Buffalo incident that led me to choose Penn over Princeton. "By golly," I exclaimed to no one in particular on a balmy Sunday morning in 1994, "Fair Harvard has her crimson Old Yale her colors too, But for dear Pennsylvan-i-a They have Yiddish speaking bigots and over-sensitive Sorrority girls, and inept administrators. I choose the Red and Blue!" I think you are on to something, Dr. Harel. Perhaps if we properly marketed our rapist professor,for example, we surely would have broken into the top three. Then my life would be different: women would love me; money would spontaneously generate in my pockets; and I'd get a Toyata Prius at below cost. I think we keep the Penn name but align our brand with the venerable razor manufacturer--Penn Gillette University![/QUOTE]

Thank you for all of your feedback, and keep it coming. I will have more of a response soon, but for now just want to say 3 quick things: 1) My email address is nyz31@yahoo.com - flame me privately if you want, try to keep things legal. 2) The "If they don't know the difference between Penn and Penn State, they're not worth my time anyway" attitude is snobbery at its worst. I realize the tone of my column may be construed as such, but the fact is I blame Penn's name, not the people who mistake Penn vs Penn State. And as mentioned in the column, this mistake happens among ALL circles of people. 3) The "0.4%" line is an embarrassing, careless mistake on my part. Thanks, Noam

What if Victoria's Secret bought the rights? That would be fantastic. Or Carter-Wallace (Trojan)? JF C'86

Call it what you will; the truth is the truth. The movers and shakers of the world know the difference between The University of Pennsylvania and Penn State University. Grow up and accept reality. Do not be ashamed of pedigree. You obviously chose to educate yourself at UPenn rather than Penn State for a reason.

I bet no one would have a problem with going to Exxon Mobil University or Phillip Morris University�? even if we get a billion dollars, one fifth of the current annual endowment. But why stop there? We'd get more publicity with a name like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese University or Trojan ribbed for her pleasure condoms University. Furthermore, we could have a much better mascot�? a mac and cheese eating, ribbed condom wearing Keebler elf slash Tony the tiger genetic hybrid. That would TOTALLY make us number one.

I'm sure you must be joking. a) we had the name first, or at least early enough that we shouldn't have to change it b) the university's history is intricately tied into the history of Philadelphia and the history of the state, and the name happens to reflect that. c) HAHHHHHHHH-vard is an option for students that are so insecure about their personal/professional presentation that they are relying on instantaneous recognition by all that they went to an Ivy League university, instead of a reliance on their intelligence, accomplishments, and character. d) it only takes five seconds to say "not the state school." Anyone that doesn't get it after that is unlikely to recognize "Ben Franklin U" as Ivy League, and these poor souls are also probably totally unaware of the awesome education provided by smaller places like Swarthmore, etc, etc. e) Sunoco U is just stupid. See point D. f) Number 4 is pretty darn good, and it beats out other instantly recognized names like Duke, Cornell, etc. I'm confident that I'm receiving an excellent education and meeting helpful, inspiring people, and I think that once you get that close to the top of conventional rankings, there is really very little difference in quality - only difference in style. The fact that Penn has reached such a high level in conventional rankings proves that it's not lumped together with the state school, and that accomplishment is even more noteworthy when you consider that our endowment isn't as large as Harvard's or Princeton's. g) For the record, PennState University is an excellent state school that Pennsylvania can be proud of. If someone associates you with PennState for five seconds of their life, it's not a stigma.

Obviously your Ivy education is paying off, Noam. Ten years out of a 266 year heritage (based on the founding of the Charity School of Philadelphia trust) is 3.7% of Penn's history, not less than 0.4%. You have just made every Harvard student and alumnus chuckle at your "inferior" education. Way to go.

Wow Gwen, Were you born without a sense of humor, or was it surgically removed?