UWO re-branded as Western University

The University of Western Ontario (UWO) has adopted the name Western University as its new brand for communication, marketing and web purposes — a moniker that may be shortened further to simply Western. The institution — ranked 10th on Canada's top universities for sponsored research income — secured www.westernu.ca as its new web address and went live January 26th. The re-branding has been met with a firestorm of negative reaction, with the vast majority of alumni expressing their displeasure at the move. UWO's Richard Ivey School of Business will retain its name and will work with the university to ensure that both "brands" enhance each other. The re-branding involved a seven-month consultation process costing $200,000. It was undertaken to counter the perception that UWO is a "party school" and not in the same league as McGill, UBC or U of T….