Houston College of Law’s new logo listed on their website.
Hours after the South Texas College of Law announced it would change its name to Houston College of Law, UH representatives said in a statement that the institution will pursue “any and all appropriate legal actions” to protect its brand and interests.
UH said the revised name will create “significant confusion in the marketplace” that affects the Law Center.
The former South Texas College of Law said the renaming is “pivotal to its efforts to further distinguish itself regionally and nationally” and that it consulted alumni, students, faculty, staff and the American Bar Association before announcing the change.
“The board of directors and administrators of Houston College of Law came to the name change decision after thoughtful and lengthy research and input from key constituencies, including alumni, students, faculty, staff, and donors,” said the Houston College of Law in a statement. “We made the decision to change the name of the 93-year-old law school based on overwhelming support to tie our institution with its birthplace in downtown Houston. We believe that we are on firm legal ground with this name change, and that we are acting in the best interest of the law school and its students.”
According to the Houston College of Law, thousands of the college’s stakeholders said any name change should include “Houston” because of the college’s location downtown.
UPDATE: This story has been updated to include a statement from the Houston College of Law.
As a Houston attorney and one of the many original Florida students who were encouraged, by Garland Walker and E. J
Salcenes, to attended South Texas College of Law in the 70’s, I can only say that I, along with all alumnus that I have spoken to today, are extremely upset and disappointed by this name change.
I believe its time for Dean Guter to resign his position as President and Dean of South Texas College of Law, as well as each Trustee and/or Director of STCL that has supported this name change. Until such time, and the restoration of the name South Texas College of Law, I will no longer support, recommend or endorse the College.
Sincerely,
Richard S. Patterson, Attorney
Houston, Texas
“To improve is to change…” – Winston Churchill
But to change does not necessarily improve…. -Jaime Rocha
“But to change without improving is an even greater detriment” -Just a law student.
The change has taken place, let’s now focus on the improvement.
To call for the resignation of a group of people who made a serious decision after due deliberation is a bit hysterical. I think changing the name to capitalize on Houston’s awesomeness was basically inevitable. UH needs to calm down and learn how to embrace all the successes built by all the institutions doing good work in this fabulous city.