Vic’s big tick from minister
Victoria University of Wellington could still market itself under a different name even though Education Minister Chris Hipkins rejected the institution’s controversial bid for a legal name change.
Hipkins’ announcement yesterday followed months of deliberations and a strong campaign against the pro- posal.
However, the university’s vice-chancellor, Professor Grant Guilford, said it could choose to push its ‘‘Wellington’’ identity without the minister’s consent while it legally kept its name. The university could also legally challenge the decision.
Guilford cited Stanford University as an example which is legally the Leland Stanford Junior University. He said universities closer to home, such as the Auckland University of Technology – better known as AUT – had made similar changes through branding.
For the capital’s oldest campus, it could mean using the
name ‘‘Wellington more prominently’’ in marketing materials.
‘‘There’s plenty of precedence for that, where a legal name stays the same but the university operates under a different branding,’’ Guilford said.
‘‘That’s one of our options and that’s something we’ll consider.’’
But University of Auckland marketing senior lecturer Bodo Lang said the move would ‘‘totally side-step the issue’’ and to market under another name could work in the form of an abbreviation. In VUW’s case, it could be seen as ‘‘untidy’’.
‘‘You want a brand name that’s as clear as possible. An abbreviation is a part of everyone’s language.’’
Hipkins said he was ‘‘not convinced’’ the university had sufficiently engaged with stakeholders, ‘‘who should have their views considered’’.
‘‘Given the level of opposition to the university’s recommendation, including by its own staff, students and alumni, I am not persuaded that the recommendation is consistent with the demands of accountability and the national interest.’’
Guilford said that the minister’s decision was a disappointment but ‘‘not unexpected’’.
The university was studying all content related to the matter and any further decisions, including a possible legal challenge, could come at the council’s next meeting in February.
Hipkins believed the university council had not ‘‘discharged their responsibilities . . . in a way that is accountable to the wider university community’’.
The university’s student association president, Marlon Drake, was pleased students’ concerns over the university’s consultation processes had been highlighted.