University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

"Penn Law" is back. Sort of.

The University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law will continue to be known, informally, as Penn Law until the start of the 2022 academic year, Dean Ted Ruger informed students and alumni Monday. After that, the school's official shorthand will be "Penn Carey Law."

The announcement follows more than a week of pressure from students and alumni unhappy about the switch to the official shorthand of "Carey Law"—a result of a $125 million donation from the W.P. Carey Foundation, which was announced Nov. 8 and which sparked a formal rebranding of the school. That donation and the subsequent move to "Carey Law" has prompted both positive and critical reactions, Ruger wrote, but also some concern over the school's future.

"Much of the conversation has centered on concerns over the short-form name, instead of a focus on how the Carey Foundation gift will be used," reads Ruger's message to the law school community. "We have heard you. Like all of you, my colleagues and I care deeply about the Law School's history, tradition, and reputation in the academy, profession, and across the globe."

The compromise will allow all current students to graduate while "Penn Law" is still in use as the school's formal shorthand. But the short form of "Penn Carey Law" will be in use by the time next fall's entering class is in its third year.

It remains to be seen whether the compromise will appease those angry about the move toward "Carey." Kristen DeWilde, a Penn law student who has been organizing students and alumni in support of a return to "Penn Law" called Monday's decision a "bittersweet victory." The law school's communication with those who oppose the "Carey Law" shortform was lacking, she said.

"Yes, the Penn Law administration heard the petition and the countless emails and calls delivered to them, but they did not communicate with students and alumni for ten days about what was happening despite repeated requests in a variety of forums for more information not only about the name change but also about the agreement, the money, and it's intended purposes," DeWilde wrote in an email. "Students and alumni are important stakeholders and should be treated as such. This means not only hearing us, but also communicating with us."

Backlash against the previously planned "Carey Law" nickname was swift. Within days of the name change announcement, more than 1,000 students and alumni had signed a petition calling for a return to "Penn Law." That name carries both tradition and the name recognition that "Carey Law" lacks, the petition argued. Additionally, the Carey moniker is already in use within legal education. The W.P. Carey Foundation gave $30 million to the University of Maryland's law school and it became the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in 2012.

"I am extremely disappointed in both the outcome and the process," said Penn Law alum and Pepper Hamilton partner M. Kelly Tillery after the new shorthand was announced. "The latter is an awful 'compromise' and the former insulting to the various constituencies such as students, alumni, faculty, etc."