UCLan unveils plans to change name to University of Lancashire

The current University of Central Lancashire logo on its library building Pic: Blog Preston

Preston’s university has unveiled plans to switch to a new name.

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), which has carried that name since 1992 and referred to itself as UCLan prominently since 2007, has lodged proposals to change the name to University of Lancashire.

The university says its new name would ‘better reflect its ambitions locally, nationally and globally’.

In a statement released to Blog Preston the university goes on to call ‘central lancashire’ an ‘outdated geographical construct’ and as a university it has civic engagement across the entire county and region.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Central Lancashire, Professor Graham Baldwin, said: “Our economic impact is estimated at more than £250m to the North West economy every year and we have ambitions to further grow. Our current name needs to reflect the wider county in which we play such a huge role. The description ‘central Lancashire’ is meaningless to many people in the area and particularly unknown nationally or globally.

“The major role we play across the whole of Lancashire was particularly well demonstrated through the Covid pandemic when we boosted the support of the Lancashire NHS by graduating 300 final year nursing students and 20 medical students early, enabling them to join the frontline across the county’s hospitals, particularly Royal Blackburn.

“As a proud widening participation university we have been transforming the lives of Lancastrians and beyond from all backgrounds since 1828 and look forward to continuing this good work long into the future.”

UCLan Vice Chancellor Professor Graham Baldwin

As well as its Preston city centre campus, where it is headquartered, the university has campuses in Burnley, Blackburn, Cumbria, Cyprus and a joint school in China with partnerships with more than 100 countries.

However, Lancaster University have released a statement where they are opposing the proposed name change. They said the proposed name differs from theirs by just a few letters and would be ‘very confusing to students abroad and in the UK’.

A spokesperson for Lancaster University told Blog Preston: “As a research-intensive globally-significant University, ranked in the top 150 in the world and in the top 15 in the UK, we play a very different role from UCLan within the UK and internationally.

“Our official name, as granted by Queen Elizabeth II by Royal Charter, is ‘The University of Lancaster’ and the name ‘Lancaster University’ is also registered to us.

“We object to this proposal on the grounds that it would be very confusing to students abroad and in the UK who are seeking us as a high tariff university known for both excellent research and teaching – particularly given UCLAN’s proposed name differs from our own in just the last few letters.”

The Office For Students are asking the public in an open letter whether the new name could be confusing or misleading. Those who have an opinion, whether they are for or against, the proposed name of University of Lancashire are being asked to submit their responses online.

A timeline of UCLan rebranding projects

1828 – Founded as the Institution for the Diffusion of Knowledge.
1882 – Following a substantial donation from the Trustees of Edmund Robert Harris, it changed to the Harris Institute.
1956 – Following a government re-organisation of technical education, the name changed to the Harris College.
1973 – The Harris College was designated by Central Government as a polytechnic and became Preston Polytechnic.
1984 – Preston Polytechnic changed its name to Lancashire Polytechnic
1992 – Lancashire Polytechnic became the University of Central Lancashire after the Government bestowed degree-awarding powers to polytechnics.
2007 – New logo to emphasise the abbreviation UCLan.
2020 – In September 2020, the University launched its new brand with a new logo and colour scheme.

What do you think about the university’s planned name change? Let us know in the comments below

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