[Bhaalspawn]

It's been suggested that one of Wayne State's problems is that no one knows where it is, which makes its name a little less memorable, lowering its national profile and decreasing the value of its degrees.

Can anyone think of a new name for Wayne State University that would incorporate the word "Michigan" in it or another memorable geographic type of name?

If you call it Southern Michigan University then it's name screams "second-rate university" and will also get it confused with Southern Methodist University. The name "Michigan Technological University" is already taken. That leaves "Michigan University" or a Detroit-based name and "University of Detroit" is already taken. Perhaps it could become "Detroit State University"? The only problem with the Detroit names is that it associates you with a city that most Americans regard as being a huge joke. Perhaps "Michigan Technological Institute" might work.

I guess I like "Michigan University" or perhaps "Michigan Institute of Technology". (Hey, it worked well for MIT. Problem is, people would call it MIT and then it would be in the shadow of the real MIT.)

What about a Great Lakes-themed name? "Great Lakes University" or "Lake State University" or "Great Lake State University"?

Options so far:

• Michigan University
• Michigan Institute of Technology
• Michigan Technological Institute
• Detroit State University
• Lake State University
• Great Lakes University
• Great Lakes State University
• Southeastern Michigan University
• Southern Michigan University* (*no, we are not Methodists!)
• Detroit University (suggested by Jwo85)
• Detroit Medical and Technology University (suggested by Jwo85)
• Michigan Medical and Technology University (my idea inspired by Jwo85)

(Note, I can't edit the poll.)

[Jwo85]

Detroit University
Detroit Medical and Technology University

[Bhaalspawn]

Those are good names other than having the Detroit part in the names, I'll add them to the list.

[Bhaalspawn]

I voted for Lake State University.

On another forum, people suggested:

• Fail State University
• Heart of the Ghetto University
• Ghetto University
• CHATNTGMU--Come Here And Try Not To Get Murdered University

[Bhaalspawn]

Here's an excellent interactive campus map with a huge amount of photos of the pretty buildings. Just click on a building to see a photo:

Wayne State University Interactive Campus Map

Wayne State has undergone tremendous building boom in the past 15 years, adding a great many new, modern glass and steel buildings to its campus. (Where all of the money came from to do this, I don't know.)

[Bhaalspawn]

Apparently a small Christian school is already using the name "Great Lakes University", but who cares. A concrete and steel behemoth like Wayne State could probably find a way to expropriate it if it wanted to.

Great Lakes University

Apparently it's in the Detroit area though I've never heard it since their webpage references Oakland University.

[Jwo85]

Originally Posted by Bhaalspawn

Those are good names other than having the Detroit part in the names, I'll add them to the list.

What's wrong with the name having Detroit in it? The campus is located in Detroit.

[Bhaalspawn]

When people think of "Detroit", they think of poverty and decrepitude. If this were any other big city, using the city name might be viable. I do think that using a city name is also like saying, "Second-Rate State University".

So far my favorites are:

Great Lakes University
Lake State University
Michigan Technological Institute
Michigan Medical and Technological University (MMTU has a good sound to it.)

[Jwo85]

I hate to bring some bad news in as people think of the same with Michigan due to the auto industry and the high unemployment rates. It's not just a Detroit thing.

[Bhaalspawn]

On another subject, the campus has really changed tremendously over the past 15 years, adding a great many brand new modern buildings. Where the hell did Wayne State get the money for all of this?