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RICHMOND--There's just something about Mary.
The Senate version of a bill to change Mary Washington College's name to University of Mary Washington was approved by a committee yesterday, despite Sen. Edd Houck's protest that backers of the official name change are still trying to diminish the "Mary" part of the school's name.
Houck had planned to introduce a bill that would change the school's name to Mary Washington University. Due to drafting delays, he was unable to introduce it before the University of Mary Washington bill--sponsored by Sen. John Chichester, R-Stafford--came before the Senate Education and Health Committee yesterday morning.
So Houck proposed changing Chichester's bill to read "Mary Washington University."
"This is a 'Mary' thing," Houck said. "There's still this gender issue that's involved.The only thing I can surmise, somewhere in the marketing studies is that if it's 'university' first instead of 'Mary' it takes some of that gender bias out of it."
MWC President William Anderson had argued that marketing studies have shown better results with the word "university" before "Mary Washington."
"It says right up front what the institution is and it also carries our heritage with us," Anderson told senators. "It's extremely important that the syntax we're offering, 'University of Mary Washington,' be followed."
The college's board of visitors supports changing the name to University of Mary Washington, as do a number of other groups.
But most students favor Mary Washington University, on the premise that it is more syntactically correct and because it emphasizes the fact that the school is named after a woman.
Houck said he was "trying to reflect there wasn't a unanimous kind of consensus on this as far as the community was concerned.
"There was significant local opposition," he said.
Houck also noted to the committee that most of Virginia's colleges follow a syntax similar to what he proposed. James Madison University and George Mason University were among his examples.
"Why is it that the syntax for this institution has to be so much different than other state institutions that have moved to university status?" Houck asked. "We can use the guys' names up front. We can put George and James up front, but not Mary."
Ron Singleton, a senior vice president at MWC, said the Mary Washington name is preserved in the college's name preference.
"The name Mary Washington is prominent in this construction, as it was in the other construction," Singleton said. "It's hard to get a consensus about semantics."
Houck had tried to get the hearing on Chichester's bill delayed, so he could introduce his own bill and have the two considered together.
But Chichester's bill--as well as an identical bill in the House of Delegates--have moved quickly through the committee process.
"When you have a well-respected, high-paid lobbying firm working for you, it kind of greases the skids," Houck said, referring to MWC's hiring of Richmond lobbying firm Vectre Corp. to push the officially sanctioned university name.
Other senators on the committee said they sympathized with Houck and that their personal preferences might lean more toward the Mary Washington University name.
But ultimately they voted to support the board of visitors' preference.
"I defer to the president and the board on this," said committee Chairman Russ Potts, R-Winchester.
Sen. Bill Bolling, R-Hanover, said legislators should support the board's decision "unless we want to micromanage the activity of the board."
The Chichester version of the bill passed with only one dissenting vote--Houck's. It will now go before the full Senate.
To reach CHELYEN DAVIS: 804/782-9362 cdavis@freelancestar.com