News 14 Carolina's David Kernodle is at UNC Charlotte, as student leaders debate calling for a new name for the university.
CHARLOTTE -- The UNC Charlotte Student Government Association debated a resolution Thursday aimed at changing the school’s name.
A resolution which came before the Student Senate is calling for the university to change its name to the University of Charlotte. While the body does not have the power to change the school’s name, some student senators like Darren Moorehead are trying to get a transformation underway.
“[UNC Chapel Hill] is getting a lot of recognition for things we have been doing lately, well not just lately, for the last 5-10 years,” said Moorehead. “We need to change our name to the University of Charlotte because we need to begin building our own identity.”
The school was originally called Charlotte Center of the University of North Carolina. The name changed a few years later to Charlotte College. Then, in the 1960s, the school merged with the UNC system, thus changing its name to the current form.
While some are looking for a name change at UNC Charlotte, others are saying such discussions need to stop.
If a change was made to something such as the University of Charlotte, that would be the fourth name change in the school’s existence. It’s a long process of approval that would move through SGA to the trustees of the university, followed by the Board of Governors and the General Assembly, who has the final say.
The Board of Governors office says a name change of this type is unprecedented, and not a priority if it reaches the General Assembly. A spokesperson for the board said the proposal would require unanimous approval from university leaders to even be considered by the state.
SGA members say this is the third name change proposal in the past four years. Members will talk about it again at their meeting next week. For more information, click HERE.