USM name-change plan moves ahead

University of Southern Maine seen from above

Courtesy / University of Southern Maine What's in a name? The University of Southern Maine would be renamed the University of Maine at Portland under a plan that got a green light Monday from the board of trustees.

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By Renee Cordes

Seeking to capitalize on Portland's growing popularity, the University of Southern Maine has moved a step closer to changing its name.

On Monday, a plan to rebrand USM as the University of Maine at Portland received approval from the University of Maine System Board of Trustees.

The vote came a year after USM launched the initiative to attract more out-of-state students.

“With a steep decline in high school students in our state, we must attract out-of-state students to bring in resources to expand academic programs, improve our facilities and provide scholarships for Maine kids,” said USM President Glenn Cummings in a news release.

"While we are proud of the tremendous progress we have made in recent years to strengthen and grow USM, we will take a step backwards unless we are successful in this effort.”

USM has campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston. The campus in Maine's largest city was once a stand-alone school known as the University of Maine in Portland.

The University of Southern Maine embarked on the name-change effort last year after surveying college-bound high school students throughout the Northeast, as well as parents and high school guidance counselors.

“The market research showed that placing ‘Portland' in our name would significantly move the needle in attracting out-of state-students,” Cummings said in Monday's release. “The fact is most people outside of Maine have no idea where USM is, but when they learn our largest campus is in Portland, they become very interested in learning more.”

Following Monday's board of trustees vote, the proposed name change will be put to a vote by the state lawmakers in Augusta, in the form of a bill by Senate Majority Leader Nate Libby, D-Lewiston. It is to be considered in the upcoming session.

Portland's 'brand equity'

So, what is Portland's value as a brand?

Nancy Marshall, founder and CEO of Marshall Communications and host of "The PR Maven" podcast, told Mainebiz she believes that young people will be more drawn to a university with "Portland" in its name than a university in "southern Maine."

To illustrate why, she pointed to Portland being named Bon Appetit's 2018 Restaurant City of the Year and the fact that people recognize the city as a place with natural beauty and great hospitality.

"Brand equity is real," she added. "It is recognition built on having people who know, like and trust that the brand will deliver on its promise. Portland is in a great position right now to leverage a strong brand with equity that has real value when it comes to positioning and marketing."

About USM

The University of Southern Maine, part of the University of Maine System, offers courses at its campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston, and online. The school traces its roots to the 1878 founding of Gorham Normal School, later Gorham State College, which merged with the University of Maine in Portland in 1970. The combined institution was known as the University of Maine Portland-Gorham, and changed its name to the University of Southern Maine in 1978. The Lewiston campus was added in 1988.