RALEIGH, N.C. —The Saint Augustine’s College Board of Trustees announced Friday that the college will be known as Saint Augustine’s University effective Aug. 1. The change to university status aligns the college’s public identity with the structure and breadth of academic, athletic and student development programs currently being offered.
“This isn’t just a name change,” states President Dianne Boardley Suber. “We’re committed to changing the way we do business. Our guiding principle will continue to be the training of leaders and change agents. All of our curricula, student organizations and student life will have leadership training as its backdrop.”
For example, the college has retrenched the general education core of courses for the freshman class of 2012. The new general education courses, which are required of all freshmen and sophomores, ensure that the content and objectives of all courses are relevant to the goal of retaining and graduating students.
Further, Saint Augustine’s University will expand its programs for nontraditional students to include students seeking a four-year degree that includes online courses and expanding off-site access to campus programs. The Center for Forensic Discovery (forensic science, forensic accounting and forensic psychology) and the Center for Applied Medical Sciences are two signature academic programs that are expected to enhance and expand students’ marketability for a global workforce. The third Center of Excellence will be the Center for Athletic Facilities and Sports Management. This center affords students a unique concentration in the operational and administration aspects in the world of professional, collegiate and leisure sports. Graduates from this center would have the competitive advantage to secure positions in the “front office.”
An additional center of excellence being considered is the Center for Athletic Scholarship. “The University will focus on being NCAA championship contenders while continuing to raise the four-year graduation rates of student athletes,” says President Dianne Boardley Suber.
The university also will move toward offering its first master’s degree program as early as 2014. The physician assistant, or PA, master’s program will focus on training PAs for rural and other underserved communities.
While the complete branding package is still under development, preparations for the name change will begin next month. Full implementation will take place this summer including the launch of a new Saint Augustine’s University website and revised materials for new student orientation and prospective student events.
Saint Augustine’s College, established in 1867, is a four-year historically Black college. With an average annual enrollment of 1,500, the college offers 30 undergraduate degree programs in five academic divisions. Saint Augustine’s College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
