The Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy is hoping to be NEOUCOM no more — say hello to the Northeast Ohio Medical University.

The NEOUCOM Board of Trustees voted unanimously to change the university’s name, but Public Relations Director Cristine Boyd said the renaming will not be finalized until the Ohio General Assembly and Gov. Ted Strickland approve it as well. She said the university hopes it will take place during the academic year.

The name change is a result of a string of focus groups, surveys and interviews with students, alumni, faculty and staff.

“The current name no longer reflects who we are as a university. In addition to a College of Medicine and a College of Pharmacy, we also added a College of Graduate Studies last year,” said NEOUCOM President Jay Gershen in a press release.

“The new name being presented is one that is very close to NEOUCOM’s roots,” Gershen added, “and also pays respect to the geographic area that we serve and to our successful educational and research programs in medicine, pharmacy and community health.”

The university has been considering a name change for many years, but after looking over the collected research, the decision to submit a change for review was finalized.

This name change is just one

part of what the press release calls

a “transformational process.”

Other projects include a strategic

plan, organizational review and

campus master plan.

“We look forward to getting

this name approved by the legislature

and further developing the

brand as a premier medical university,”

Gershen said.

Contact administration reporter

Nick Glunt at [email protected].