Roberts Wesleyan College has changed its name to Roberts Wesleyan University.
That’s in keeping with actions taken by some other colleges around the state, after the NYS Board of Regents earlier this year changed the definition of “university.”
St. John Fisher also went from college to university in July. Roberts Wesleyan, based in North Chili, has had several institutional names in its 157-year history. It had been Roberts Wesleyan College since 1949.
Roberts Wesleyan President Deana Porterfield said that the institution’s mission has not changed, but it can now move forward with more flexible options to serve students.
“Part of our strategic plans, the last few years have been programs that would position us to be recognized as a leader in education and specifically we offer 26 masters degrees and two doctoral programs,” said Porterfield.” “Those two doctoral programs have come since 2016, all leading to this positioning of Roberts Wesleyan University.”
Porterfield said that getting the university designation will also make Roberts Wesleyan more competitive with other schools.
“We have a number of international students and people may not realize, but the name ‘college’ in some countries is viewed as a high school. And so as we look to position ourselves internationally, and within the United States, it just gives us a competitive advantage against other states where institutions have been at a university status with fewer programs than we have,” said Porterfield.
Porterfield said that with the investment Roberts Wesleyan is making in the change to university, they hope to establish broader networks in the Greater Rochester area and beyond including providing students with more internships and research opportunities.