Walla Walla College (WWC) has elected to change its name to Walla Walla University in order to better reflect the scope of its programs and the nature of its student body. The name change was approved at the WWC constituency meeting in Portland, Ore., on Oct.1.

The decision followed an earlier recommendation by the college’s Board of Trustees that the institution should include the term “university” in its name. WWC has been officially recognized as a university for more than 10 years.

Other factors contributing to a name change include positioning the school more accurately in relation to similar institutions and communicating clearly with international students who associate “college” with a secondary school.

“Our liberal arts core and our commitment to personalized education will remain strong, however we are adopting a university name to more accurately describe our institution,” says John McVay, WWC president. “We believe a university name will place our school in a stronger position to clearly communicate who we are,” he says.

As part of the transition, the phrase “Seventh-day Adventist Higher Education” will be used as a tagline to the university name. “Our name may be changing, but, as always, our education will continue to be rooted in Seventh-day Adventist faith and tradition,” McVay says.

The name change was approved by 83 percent of the 256 delegates who voted. The date the name change will become official is still to be determined by the college’s Board of Trustees.

For more information about the name change, visit wwc.edu/namechange.