Senate

Subject: Procedures for the naming of Academic Units

Origin: Advancement Committee

Process for naming Academic Units

1. Academic units may have two elements to their name, a functional description (eg school of x,y, z, Business School, Institute of A) and sometimes a prefix of the name of an individual or organisation (eg Wolfson School of…; Cass Business School, etc).

2. The former functional naming is a matter for the academic unit, and its leadership (Deans in the case of Schools), who will normally develop proposals for approval by Senate, after consideration by the Advancement Committee based on the principles noted below.

3. The Advancement Committee has responsibility for approving the naming of buildings, rooms and other campus facilities in acknowledgement of generous benefactors. The Advancement Committee should also be the lead body in relation to agreeing names to be prefixed to academic units [subject to the final approval of Senate].

4. Advancement Committee is well placed to take the lead role in this respect as it brings together considerations about the possibility of raising additional funds linked to a naming opportunity as well as consideration of linked reputational benefits and/or risks.

Principles for functional naming of Academic Units

1. Priority for academic support. It is essential that there is broad agreement from academic staff within an academic unit for the proposed name, although it is recognised that it will not always be possible for this to be unanimous.

2. Simplicity, ease of use, logic and lack of confusion. Names selected should be functional. There should be a clear logic for such proposals, which should avoid confusion and be for names that are simple and easy to use.

3. Audiences, communications and marketing. Proposals for functional names should give consideration to the range of audiences for whom the name may be significant (eg prospective students, current students, staff, research and industrial collaborators, alumni, funders etc), and should enable effective communications and marketing plans to be implemented.

Principles for agreeing prefixes for the names of Academic Units

1. Priority for securing financial support. Naming of academic units, especially larger units such as Schools, represents a significant opportunity to secure large donations. Except in the most exceptional circumstances, it is anticipated that naming will be associated with substantial financial support.

2. Longevity of naming. A unit’s reputation will, be associated with its name (eg Cass Business School etc) and, unless specified otherwise, it must be assumed that such naming will be in perpetuity—or as long as the unit exists. This means that the value of financial support should reflect the fact that the University can never offer the naming opportunity to another and risk assessment in reputational terms should be carefully considered prior to acceptance.

3. Reputational gain as an additional factor. In some cases it may be possible to secure names that bring both reputational advantage and recognise generous benefactors (eg Wolfson). This is highly desirable and may be reflected in the level of financial support required.

4. University-wide issues. Names cannot be considered in isolation, and due consideration should be given to how names contribute to developing the University’s overall reputation and to the effective and consistent promotion of the Institution.