University of Akron President Scott Scarborough will address the possibility of changing the name of the school during a speech this month at the City Club of Cleveland.
UA spokeswoman Eileen Korey confirmed Thursday that he will deal with the issue, but she would not say what he will discuss.
Rumors have swirled that Scarborough, who took over as president last year, plans to announce a new name for the university to better represent its polymer and engineering specialties.
He is slated to speak before the City Club at noon May 15. His speech is titledMore Than Harvard: Building a Great Public University in Northeast Ohio.
The possibility already is being met with resistance, with some opponents latching onto the potential name Ohio Polytech Institute.
The… Ohio… Polytech… Institute? No way. That sounds like it’s a step down from ITT Tech and maybe a step up from the University of Phoenix. There’s no way that name is even being considered, is there? Look, I have absolutely no ties to AK Rowdy but if this name change happens it’d be one of the dumbest and most ridiculous collegiate blunders of all time.
Just look how bad that looks compared with the other teams in the MAC:
I texted Zack the t-shirt guy who graduated from Akron a few years ago about this and this was his response:
Seems pretty thrilled.
There’s also a Change.org petition going around condemning the name change. If you’re a Zip or know anyone that’s a Zip, go and sign it
Petition: Stop the Name Change initiated by Scott Scarborough
Update from the University’s Facebook page
Bottlegate 