UH-Downtown wants a new name.
“UH-Downtown has undergone a dramatic transformation … but we’re still referred to as a branch campus,” President Max Castillo said. “We are not.”
UH-Downtown, located in the shadow of a freeway overpass on the northern edge of downtown, was founded in 1974. It is part of the University of Houston System but is a stand-alone university, as is the University of Houston-Clear Lake and the University of Houston-Victoria.
Those schools haven’t suffered as much name confusion as UH-Downtown, Chancellor Renu Khator told university regents Tuesday, partly because they are farther away. UH-Downtown is less than five miles from the UH central campus.
University campuses with “downtown” in their names are traditionally branch campuses, Khator said.
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Regents voted to allow the school to pursue a new name, although any change would have to be approved by regents and legislators. Regent Dennis Golden opposed the plan, saying he wasn’t convinced it was a good idea.
Castillo hopes to have a new name selected by December. A Web site listing all suggested names should be up by September, spokeswoman Sue Davis said.
Among the suggestions so far: Houston International University, Gulf Coast University and Houston University.
Anyone want to help them get started on that? Leave your suggestions in the comments.
Leave it up to the politicians and they’ll name it after themselves and their staff and get an honorary degree for doing so.