Schools

Can Rochester Area Handle Two Universities?

The president of Rochester College is taking the pulse of students and the community on whether to change the school's name to Rochester University.

What's in a name?

That's what the leader of Rochester College is wanting to find out.

President Rubel Shelly is asking the campus and surrounding community to weigh-in on a potential name change for the school. Should it be Rochester University?

Find out what's happening in Rochester-Rochester Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 “Twenty-five years ago, there was a gentleman’s understanding that university was for big schools with schools of education, and schools of medicine, and schools of this and schools of that. Undergraduate teaching colleges that focus on bachelors-level work tended to be called colleges,” Shelly said in a report this week in The Shield, the college's newspaper.

Rochester College was founded in 1959 as the North Central Christian College; its name changed to Rochester College in 1997.

Find out what's happening in Rochester-Rochester Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In the short survey (take it online here) Shelly asks whether the word "college" creates ambiguity when perspective students are trying to decide on a two-year or four-year degree institution.

What do you think?


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Rochester-Rochester Hills