Trump University Changes Name to "Trump Entrepreneur Initiative" Under Pressure from NY Education Department

In June 2010, Trump University changed its name to “The Trump Entrepreneur Initiative” following sustained pressure from the New York State Education Department, which had repeatedly warned since 2005 that the organization was illegally using the term “university” without proper authorization. A March 2010 letter from Deputy Commissioner for Higher Education Joseph Frey explicitly stated that “Use of the word ‘university’ by your corporation is misleading and violates New York Education Law and the Rules of the Board of Regents.” The name change represented an attempt to avoid prosecution for operating an unlicensed educational institution rather than any substantive reform of the enterprise’s fraudulent business practices. Despite the cosmetic rebranding, the organization continued the same high-pressure sales tactics and deceptive marketing practices under its new name.

Background

The New York State Education Department first contacted Trump, Michael Sexton, and Trump University in 2005, warning that the organization was operating illegally by using the term “university” without proper charter or licensure. The warnings were repeated multiple times over five years as Trump University continued to ignore state education law. In 2005, Sexton claimed the operation would merge with an entity in Delaware and would not hold Trump University sessions in New York, but this never materialized. By 2010, facing the threat of enforcement action, the organization finally capitulated to regulatory pressure by changing its name. However, the name change was purely superficial—the enterprise did not refund students who had paid for what they believed was a “university” degree, did not alter its predatory sales practices, and did not address any of the fundamental consumer fraud issues that had generated the D- Better Business Bureau rating.

Significance

The forced name change demonstrated Trump’s awareness that Trump University was operating illegally, yet he continued the fraudulent scheme for six years before making even cosmetic changes. The fact that the organization changed only its name while continuing identical fraudulent practices showed consciousness of guilt and a calculated strategy to evade regulatory enforcement without actually reforming. The name change came during the peak period of consumer complaints (leading to the D- BBB rating) but did nothing to protect consumers or address the systematic fraud. This pattern of regulatory evasion while continuing fraudulent conduct would later be cited in the New York Attorney General’s lawsuit as evidence of “persistent illegal conduct.” The name change also demonstrated how Trump exploited regulatory gaps—while state education authorities could force a name change, they lacked authority to shut down the operation entirely, allowing the fraud to continue for another year until mounting lawsuits forced closure in 2011.