Augusta’s Georgia Regents University could be renamed, polling and political news publisher Insider Advantage was reporting Monday afternoon.
Sources in Augusta told the publisher that the name change announcement could come Tuesday during a scheduled state Board of Regents meeting in Atlanta. The meeting agenda includes an update on GRU by University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby.
“The University System of Georgia continues to discuss ideas and options that maximize Georgia Regents University and its ability to be an excellent undergraduate university and a top 50 medical school in the nation,” read a statement to the AJC from the University System. A spokesman declined to comment further.
The current name of the university has caused much consternation in Augusta since the Regents voted to consolidate Augusta State and Georgia Health Sciences universities and name the new institution Georgia Regents about three years ago.
Ricardo Azziz, GRU's incoming president, supported the new name at the time and was criticized throughout his tenure at the institution for it. Students and area residents wanting to retain the city of Augusta name in the university name protested and began a "Save the A" campaign. Regent University in Virginia also challenged the GRU name with federal trademark infringement complaint against the Georgia's Board of Regents. The Virginia school said it had trademarked the "Regent" name.
Azziz resigned from GRU in June and was succeed by Georgia Southern President Brooks Keel. (A search committee was named Monday to find Keel's replacement.) Augusta residents have since asked Keel to restore the Augusta name. Name changes to any of the state's 30 University System schools have to be approved by the Board of Regents.
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