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Name change for NCSA advance in House
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Published: July 3, 2008
The N.C. School of the Arts is another step closer to getting a new name.
The education committee of the N.C. House of Representatives approved today a bill that would change the school's name to "University of North Carolina School of the Arts."
The bill is expected to come up for a vote in the full House next week. The N.C. Senate has already approved the name change.
School officials want to change the name in order to emphasize the school's affiliation with the UNC system and to prevent the misconception that the school is only a high school.
Some alumni have fought against the change, arguing that it was not well thought out and that it will hurt the school's brand. The school, which is in Winston-Salem, has an international reputation as a top public arts conservatory.
Opponents hoped to persuade legislators in the House to amend the bill and require the school to conduct a marketing study of the effects of the proposed new name. But legislators on the education committee praised the bill today and did not amend it.
State Rep. Larry Womble, a Winston-Salem Democrat who supports the bill, said he does not think there is much opposition to the name change.
"There may have been some discussion, but not too much disagreement about the name. More of it's been about the procedure, and to my knowledge, that's been worked out," Womble said.
That assessment surprised opponents of the name change, some of whom had been hoping that Womble would be an ally. They said that Womble had expressed sympathy with their position.
"The most sympathetic hearing of all the legislators, I would say, came from Larry Womble," said David Winslow, a School of the Arts alumnus who is helping lead the opposition to the change.
School officials rejected the opponents' call for the school to conduct a formal study to better gauge the effects of the name change on marketing and fundraising.
"We're not amenable to amending the bill in any way," said Jim DeCristo, the school's director of economic development and external affairs.
The school has people in-house who have examining the marketing effects, DeCristo said.
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