Jerry Falwell’s School to Lipscomb University: You’re Not ‘LU’

While “LU” is used on some uniforms and branding, most say “Lipscomb” in full, and the name is the university’s primary identity. Image source: Lipscomb University

There is one university legally known as LU–and Nashville Lipscomb isn’t it. That’s the agreement the Church of Christ school reached with Liberty University, which was founded by televangelist Jerry Falwell. Liberty registered “LU” as a trademark in 2010, as it made moves to ramp up its athletic programs.

Lipscomb used to be called “David Lipscomb,” after its founder. The school dropped his first name nearly a decade ago. Since then, spokesperson Kim Chaudoin says the acronym LU has been used on some sports uniforms and campus graphics, but will be phased out.

“We’re bigger than a logo, bigger than two letters of the alphabet, so that’s kind of how we’re looking at it.”

The agreement will also affect several university twitter accounts and the name of the text message service that sends alerts to Lipscomb students and faculty.