In its first action on school consolidations since selecting which colleges to merge, the state Board of Regents spent nearly 90 minutes Tuesday debating new names for two of the newly formed schools and mission statements for the four consolidated campuses.
Much of the discussion focused on two pairings: Gainesville State College with North Georgia College & State University; and Macon State College with Middle Georgia College.
The regents spent nearly 20 minutes discussing whether University of North Georgia or North Georgia University would be the best name for a consolidated Gainesville State and North Georgia.
The former was suggested by a committee comprised of representatives from both schools. But a handful of regents said the latter was a better fit since North Georgia is one of the state’s oldest schools.
Regent James Jolly worried about losing a bit of history if "North Georgia" was at end of the school's name. "I think this ought to be North Georgia University," he said.
Others pointed out that the Gainesville name is completely eliminated. Regents Chairman Ben Tarbutton reminded everyone "this is not a corporate takeover," but the creation of a new college.
Presidents from the affected colleges said University of North Georgia was the favorite in surveys. Ultimately, the regents approved that name.
They also tweaked the new school's mission statement to include "premier senior military college" to stress the presence of the Military College of Georgia on the campus.
The regents unanimously approved Middle Georgia State College as the new name when Macon State merges with Middle Georgia. As part of the motion, the regents outlined steps for the new school to submit a plan that would allow it to offer graduate programs.
Regent Ken Bernard worried the regents were jumping ahead of Chancellor Hank Huckaby, noting system staff should first review any new degree offerings.
Huckaby said he was comfortable with the motion, but added that if the new college's plan is flawed his staff will not recommend it to the regents.
This summer the regents will consider names for the other two consolidations: Augusta State University with Georgia Health Sciences University; and Waycross College with South Georgia College. New mission statements for both pairings received unanimous approval.
The regents approved the consolidations in January and they are scheduled to be done by the start of the 2013-14 academic year.
Huckaby has said the mergers will save money on administrative costs and those savings will be redirected to academic programs.
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