UMF name history:

1864: Western State Normal School

1878: Northern State Normal School

1903: Farmington State Normal School

1945: Farmington State Teachers College

1965: Farmington State College

1968: Farmington State College of the University of Maine

1970: University of Maine at Farmington
From UMF to CLAM?
FARMINGTON – University of Maine at Farmington alumni don’t need to worry about mollusk jokes just yet.

UMF isn’t going to become the College of Liberal Arts Maine, or CLAM. Not unless a lot of people want it to be.

“The only consensus at this point is that the name (University of Maine at Farmington) will be modified somewhat,” said university system spokesman John Diamond.

System Chancellor Joseph Westphal proposed a name change for the well-respected college in March as part of his plan to reorganize the entire university system. The plan calls for reducing seven universities to four. The other three would be the University of Southern Maine, a University of Northern Maine and University of Maine.

The name “University of Maine at Farmington” wouldn’t fit the new design and could confuse prospective students into thinking Farmington’s university was part of Orono’s University of Maine. Westphal wants a new name that gives the school its own identity and emphasizes its mission.

His 27-page proposal referred to it as the Liberal Arts College of Maine.

That name was just a “place holder,” system officials said, something to put in the proposal to tell readers what kind of a name change may be considered.
Not on a T-shirt
Somehow, for some people, jokes and rumors morphed Liberal Arts College of Maine into a certain choice: CLAM.

“That’s not too attractive on a hat or a T-shirt,” said University of Maine at Farmington spokesman Tom Donaghue

Dozens of anxious alumni have called or written officials about the proposed change. Apart from the rumored CLAM, many didn’t like removing Farmington from the college’s title. They didn’t like the focus on liberal arts when the school also has highly valued teacher education programs.

Many also worried about name recognition since U.S. News and World Reports has ranked the University of Maine at Farmington one of America’s top colleges seven years in a row.

UMF President Theodora Kalikow has sent a letter to alumni expressing similar concerns over a name change.

Said Donaghue, “We’re trying to tell folks it’s just a proposal.”

The chancellor, vice chancellor and members of the system’s Board of Trustees plan to visit UMF on May 7 and discuss the proposed changes in open forums.

The Board of Trustees is expected to vote in November on the reorganization, including the name change for the University of Maine at Farmington.

Any new name will be discussed with faculty, students and alumni over the coming months. More information is available at www.maine.edu/spp. Comments can be sent via e-mail to [email protected].

The university system chancellor and Board of Trustees will make the final decision on a name, but public comment will be taken into consideration.

Said university system spokesman John Diamond, “It’s not a name that’s going to be forced on the college.”
[email protected]