Just came back from the Azziz/Save the A press conference announcing the new compromise name: Georgia Regents University Augusta. If the definition of compromise is a decision that doesn’t really satisfy either party, they did an outstanding job. There was actually a moment of stunned silence when the name was announced. Seriously? That’s the best comprise name they could come up with? Having had an hour or so to mull it over, this is the lamest name choice since all the way back to when they picked Georgia Regents University. Dr. Azziz said this finally is the name that will carry the institution forward with a branding that will resonate not just across the state of Georgia, but nationally. And amazingly enough, Nick Evans and Barry Storey of Save the A stood there and said they agree.
What’s wrong with this compromise proposal? It’s not just that it’s unimaginative; in terms of branding it does exactly the opposite of what they say it will do. To illustrate, here are the names of some fictitious institutions:
• Iowa Great Plains University Dubuque
• New York Arcadia University Albany
• Maryland Seaboard University Baltimore
• Washington Cascade University Tacoma
What’s the first impression you get from each of these names? These are all satellite campuses. The logical question they suggest is, “Where is the main campus? What city?”
A massively better compromise name would have been Regents Augusta University or Augusta Regents University. At least those don’t sound like a satellite campus of an institution based elsewhere. And they keep the apparently all-important word Regents in there. (The only other word that seems more popular than Regents is The B Word: how about Georgia Branding University Augusta?) Then again, all of these names – mine and theirs – are subject to pending litigation for trademark infringement. So even Georgia Regents University Augusta may not be the end of the story. One can always hope.