What's In a Name?

The University of North Carolina School of Public Health in Chapel Hill is planning to change its name to the Dennis and Joan Gillings School of Global Public Health in September 2008.

So what? Why should anyone care?

There are several reasons. Perhaps the most basic argument is that the University of North Carolina is a public institution, which means that it belongs to the people of North Carolina. In fact, UNC is the oldest public university in the United States and UNC School of Public Health was the first school of public health to be established at a state university. Short of honoring the school's founder, renaming a public institution in recognition of any individual, couple, or family disenfranchises the taxpayers, students, and alumni who fund the university every year.

In response to the fact that only about 30% of UNC School of Public Health's $104 million per year budget is derived from state funds, why take any action that might alienate donors? Past, present, and future donors should take offense to the planned name change as it bestows a greater importance upon a single major donor rather than the collective of donors who give varying amounts to the school, some probably year after year. I realize that $50 million is a lot of money, but that's less than half of the school's budget for just one year. You also have to consider the $36.6 million in research funding that the school secured through NIH grants in 2005 alone. And if anyone else was to consider making another multi-million dollar donation to the school, have the administration not set a precedent and should they not expect that the name of the school would be changed once again, in recognition of their donation? If the administration at UNC feels that recognizing donors is important, they should limit dedications to buildings, centers, scholarships, faculty endowments, and the like, not school names.

If you've ever stepped foot onto the Carolina campus or if you have ever been to a game in which the Tar Heels have played, then you know what Carolina pride is all about. Changing the name of the School of Public Health may disrupt the way that students, faculty, and alumni identify themselves. I have yet to talk to one person who anticipates being proud to say that they are an alum of Gillings, although most alumni of the School of Public Health are very proud of the fact that they graduated from UNC or Chapel Hill, as they often refer to the school. I would no sooner change the school colors or mascot, than would I change the school's name. What would you say if UNC had announced that Ramses' new name is Dennis or that Carolina blue is to be replaced with Gillings green? Furthermore, if the administration wants UNC School of Public Health to continue to stand apart from other schools like Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, then why do exactly what they're doing by renaming the school after a benefactor? Do we really want to be know for some wealthy donor, or do we want to be known for our diversity of alumni and faculty who are leaders in public health?

After considering all of these arguments against the name change, think about this. It has been called to my attention that changing the name of the School of Public Health is only a symptom of a larger problem. Several people are concerned about the influence of industry and private dollars on the University, and rightfully so. Public-private partnerships are rife with ethical concerns and conflicts of interest. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's donations of over $300 million to Johns Hopkins University is one thing, but at least he doesn't have a financial interest tied to the research of Hopkins' School of Public Health in the way that Dennis Gillings does with respect to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology contract research organization, Quintiles, and UNC.

These are just a few of the serious concerns and reservations that I have with regard to the "Gillings Gift" and the UNC School of Public Health name change. I'm sure that you can come up with others, and I hope that you will choose to share them, just click on the "comments" link below.