Just Like That, Georgia Regents U. Becomes Augusta U.

The Georgia Board of Regents voted on Tuesday to change the name of Georgia Regents University to Augusta University, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The change followed an extended campaign against the original name, which the regents bestowed on the university in 2012, when Augusta State University and the Georgia Health Sciences University, both in Augusta, Ga., merged to create it.

Critics, angry over the loss of “Augusta” in its name, signed online petitions against the new name. Some said the Board of Regents had essentially named the university after itself. Regent University, in Virginia, filed a trademark-infringement lawsuit. At the time, the board and university officials stood by the new name. But this week, they were singing a different tune.

“Georgia Regents University or Augusta University cannot become the university it can be without complete support from the community,” said the university’s president, Brooks A. Keel, at Tuesday’s meeting, adding that Augusta residents supported the name change.

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• Source: Ajc

So who pays for the name change?

University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby said people in Augusta have pledged to raise money to cover the costs.

Read more at: www.ajc.com