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Judge Refuses To Stop Name Change For New York College

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. An upstate New York college has a new name. It has been Paul Smith's College. The school will rename itself after Joan Weill, the philanthropist who has pledged $20 million. The college needs the money and will now be called Joan Weill-Paul Smith's College. Some alumni tried to block this change and hold onto the school tradition of being named after the family of a benefactor from an earlier generation. You're listening to MORNING EDITION. [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: In the audio of this story, we say Paul Smith's College in New York changed its name to Joan Weill-Paul Smith's College. In fact, school officials say, the name wasn't changed. A judge ruled against a group of alumni that filed a petition to block the change, but the state Supreme Court has yet to rule on the challenge.] Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Corrected: September 14, 2015 at 12:00 AM EDT
In the audio of this story, as in a previous Web version, we say Paul Smith's College in New York changed its name to Joan Weill-Paul Smith's College. In fact, school officials say, the name wasn't changed. A judge ruled against a group of alumni that filed a petition to block the change, but the state Supreme Court has yet to rule on the challenge.