How to refer to a university that changed its name?

Question

More than 10 years ago I went to University A School of Engineering, in the USA and used this name on all resumés, etc. Now, I am applying to attend this same school again (for another degree).

Over a week ago, the university changed its name to University B School of Engineering (due to a hefty donation). Even the name outside the University (I pass by it everyday) still says University A School of Engineering, and so do places like LinkedIn, but the University website changed its name.

My question is: How do I address the school on resume, essays, etc? Do I say University A School of Engineering or University B School of Engineering? Because by reflex, I still say University A School of Engineering, because that’s its name for over 100 years.

By the way, my references already uploaded letters of recommendation to the university’s online system, and they referred to it as University A School of Engineering.

Answer 1

Always use the name of the school that was correct at the time when you were doing something. So, if you mention your first degree, use University A and when you mention your current activities, use University B. If there is a chance that whatever you are writing is read by somebody from outside this university or who joins this university years later and could be oblivious of its past name, use footnotes or parentheses to indicate the name change like this:

University A School of Engineering (now University B School of Engineering)

University B School of Engineering (formely University A School of Engineering)

Furthermore use pronouns and referrers to avoid confusion, when both of them appear close-by, e.g.:

I apply to University B School of Engineering because I already did my BSc at this institution and this was a positive experience.

Unless the university failed to make all its personell and students aware of the change, I do not see a reason to mention the name change on documents that do not leave this university like essays and applications. (In particular the administrative staff is probably rather annoyed by the name change and prefers to be reminded of it as little as possible.)

Answer 2

You should write "University B School of Engineering (formerly University A School of Engineering)", or possibly in a footnote instead of parentheses. Leave it like that for a year or two until you can be sure people reading your CV are familiar with the new name, and then drop the parenthetical remark.