Georgia Regents University will be the name of the school formed by the merger of Augusta State and Georgia Health Sciences universities.
The State Board of Regents approved that name with little discussion Tuesday, over the objection of hundreds of people in Augusta who wanted the merged college to reflect the city's name.
It was also picked over the objections of Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va., a faith-based school that urged the Georgia regents to chose a different name to avoid confusing students or diluting its trademarks.
Regent C. Thomas Hopkins said the "university is more and bigger than Augusta." The selected name will attract donors from around the state, he said.
Regents Vice Chairman William "Dink" NeSmith cast the sole no vote, saying the name chosen is "widely unpopular."
The regents approved in January consolidating four pairs of schools. Coming up with names for these new colleges has proved emotional and controversial.
The Augusta colleges' naming committee received thousands of recommendations, with many focused on geography, degree programs or names of local historical figures.
The group conducted three rounds of local and national branding studies. They sent the regents three finalists: Georgia Regents University, University of Augusta and Georgia Arts & Sciences University.
The mergers are scheduled to be done by the start of the 2013-14 academic year. Chancellor Hank Huckaby has said the move will save money on administrative costs and those savings will be redirected to academic programs.
The other colleges to be merged are: Gainesville State College with North Georgia College & State University; Macon State College with Middle Georgia College; and Waycross College with South Georgia College.
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