Lots of colleges name centers, museums, and graduate schools for generous donors. This Friday, Tri-State University will take that concept one step further and become Trine University, after two donors, Ralph and Sheri Trine, according to the university’s Web site.

An article in The Journal Gazette, in Fort Wayne, Ind., details a controversy over the name change. Some alumni have threatened to stop donating to the university, but officials say they have actually been getting more donations in recent months.

The institution was founded as Tri-State Normal College in 1884, and later its name was changed to indicate its location near the Michigan and Ohio borders. Critics of the existing name have said it made the private university sound like a state institution. —David L. Wheeler