Last week, the University announced that it would be naming the new Ikenberry Commons dorm after a prominent female alumna. The dorm, set to open in the fall of 2013, will be named after Maudelle Tanner Brown Bousfield, the first African-American woman to graduate from the University and the only black woman on campus from 1903 to 1905.

Although Ms. Bousfield undoubtedly has earned a place in University history, the decision to name a new dorm in her honor is a missed financial opportunity.

I have always admired the administration for taking many painful yet necessary steps to ensure fiscal stability on this campus. However, they continue to waste opportunities to bring large amounts of money onto this campus by electing to name colleges, buildings and programs after historical figures or, even worse, nothing at all.

This dorm is just one example, though, and it brings to mind the greater issue of missed opportunities when it comes to naming rights on campus. Currently, the University houses 17 colleges and other major academic units. Not a single one of these units has been named after either a historical figure from years past or a wealthy benefactor whose generous contributions will fund the mission of the college. Instead, these units begin with the bland phrases “College of,” “School” or “Institute of.”

These names serve a practical purpose, but the lack of a specific identity, or brand, for these units is detrimental in more than one way.

Aside from the obvious issue of not inviting massive donations in for the naming rights to these institutions, the University is missing out on an opportunity to begin a tradition of setting itself apart from the increasingly competitive industry of higher education through branding.

The case of Bousfield Hall is an example of a missed financial opportunity because the concept of branding is not as relevant to dorms like this one. Although this was a missed opportunity, the importance of our University’s mini brands in colleges and other departments should not be lost. In fact, this issue was brought into my sight when talking to one of my cousins over the holiday season.

As a highly talented senior in high school, he essentially has his pick of what university to attend. However, he specifically mentioned that he was blown away by the brand that one prominently named business school showcased during his official visit. I was not surprised that this program impressed him, but the fact that he used the term “brand” without me prompting him shocked me. As an advertising major and branding fanatic, I use the term pretty often, but my 18-year-old cousin’s awareness and appreciation for a strong brand image opened my eyes to what this University could be missing out on.

The business school on this campus is plainly called the College of Business. It is also called that at Illinois State, San Jose State, Colorado State, Ohio University, Northern Illinois and many, many more. Those schools were just the ones listed on the first page of a Google search.

Other schools have elected to name schools after benefactors or past historical figures. Wharton, Kelley and Kellogg seem like random words, but they signify highly influential brand names for specific business schools within larger universities. More importantly, average people are able to deduce which university students in those schools attend after simply hearing the name of the business program. Furthermore, 21 of U.S. News and World Report’s top 25 business schools are named. The four universities whose programs remain unnamed are Harvard, Stanford, Yale and Columbia — all of which have the luxury of a university-wide Ivy League brand name and multi-billion dollar endowments.

All of this is not to say that the University should begin a fire sale of naming rights to any and all unnamed programs and buildings, though. It is more important that they seek to brand the many pockets of this campus while remaining open to generous donations in exchange for naming rights. For example, my academic unit, the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising within the College of Media was named after a man regarded as the “father of advertising education” on this campus and across the country.

While this name change came in the Spring of 2010 with no financial gift, it provided the department with a newfound brand equity that solidified the program as the “first and most prominent home of advertising education and scholarship.”

Whether it comes through massive donations today or a strong brand name moving forward, the importance of branding cannot continue to be ignored by this University.

John is a junior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected].