Tallahassee Community College is likely to get a new name: Tallahassee State College. That’s according to a new bill filed before the legislature. The measure was filed this week, a day after trustees approved the new name.
TCC President Jim Murdaugh first floated the idea of changing the school’s name in August.
“It really is a follow onto the momentum that we’ve seen in the past few years," he said at the time. During his state of the college address, Murdaugh added, "this is not about changing who we are; it’s about defining who we are and where we are going."
TCC trustees expressed widespread support for the change though it wasn't quite unanimous. During that meeting, the marketing firm hired by the school noted that names are important; and that many students are turned off by the idea of getting a bachelor's degree at a community college.
There have been a series of town halls for feedback on whether to change the name, and if so, to what. Republican State Representative Jason Shoaf’s bill would rename TCC as Tallahassee State College—a name that’s more in line with most of Florida’s other 28 state colleges. TCC is one of the last community colleges to retain “community” in its name. Most of the other schools dropped the moniker when the state began allowing them to offer bachelor’s degrees years ago. TCC now offers four such programs.
The last time the school underwent a name change was in the 1970s when it dropped “junior college” in favor of “community college.”
