Medill committee to explore suggestions for new name

The Medill School of Journalism is forming a committee to explore a possible name change.

Dean John Lavine said the committee will consider altering the name to better represent the school and what it offers.

"We're really exploring what the name should be, could be, what people think about it," he said. "There will be a process for people to have real input on it, and that's what is important."

Lavine did not comment on specific names being discussed, but said that in informal conversations he's had with students and others, adding "Integrated Marketing Communications" to the name was a popular idea.

"The name should reflect what (the school) is and where it's going," he said.

The school's name might not be changed at all, and the process will take "a considerable amount of time," Lavine said. The first step, the committee's recommendation, will take months. The Board of Trustees, who will make the final decision on whether to change the name, might consider the recommendations in the next school year, Lavine said.

The committee will include faculty and students who will research the effects of a possible name change and submit their findings to full-time faculty. The faculty will then read the report and give their recommendation to Lavine, who will send his views to University President Henry Bienen and Provost Daniel Linzer.

Only then could the president and provost submit their recommendation to the Board of Trustees.

"This is not something that any school at NU gets to decide," Lavine said. "Only the trustees get to decide the name … That's the way it should be."

The school sent an e-mail to Medill students Tuesday asking them to apply for positions on four different committees, including a "Name of Medill," committee and a "Curriculum" committee.

The chairman of the name committee, Medill Prof. Steven Duke, is the managing director of training with the Media Management Center and the Readership Institute.

Lavine said changing the name has been on the back burner for years. The year before he became dean, the journalism and Integrated Marketing Communications faculties focused on strategic goals, he said.

"We said that after the curriculum was done we could create a committee and process to explore Medill's name," he said. "We put that aside because we didn't know what the new curriculum would look like."

The committee will get input from students, staff, faculty alumni and industries that hire alumni before making a recommendation, he said.

Medill students' reactions to the possible alteration were varied. Will DuPree, a Medill sophomore, said the change could be beneficial down the line.

"It definitely lets people know there's a different aspect to Medill than just journalism," he said. "I think maybe we would get more people to come here - more than good journalists."

Emma Haak, a Medill sophomore, said she wanted the administration to "carefully consider" the possible effects of changing the name, and that the process seems like a "waste of time."

"I understand that Medill is trying to get the multimedia approach," she said, "but I think (changing the name) is a bit of an overreaction."

Chardae Davis, a Medill junior, said the possible change really bothers her, and that the school was too old to change its name.

"It's a brand in a way," she said. "Medill has a reputation and the name stands for something."

While she understands that journalism is evolving and so the curriculum is changing, Davis said that doesn't mean the name should be altered.

"We came to Medill for Medill," she said. "Not for the Medill School of Journalism and insert rest of name here."

Reach Alison Hollenbeck at a-hollenbeck@northwestern.edu.