Lincoln changes name

Press, 19 December 1989, Page 6

Lincoln changes name

A name change will help Lincoln College attract full feepaying overseas students, says the college’s principal, Professor Bruce Ross. Lincoln College will become Lincoln University on January 1. The Education Amendment Bill, passed last week, enables Lincoln to start the year with the new title of “university.” This is in anticipation of legislation later in 1990 granting the 112-year-old institution full and independent university status. Professor Ross said there were two big advantages in the name change. Firstly, students would now be able to graduate with a Lincoln University degree, rather than a University of Canterbury degree. Secondly, in the days of competition for full fee-paying overseas students, it was important for Lincoln to be able to market itself as a university.

Lincoln is already popular with overseas students for its agricultural and cor/merce course, but the name of university gives the institution extra prestige. Lincoln was founded in 1878 as the Lincoln School of Agriculture. It became the Canterbury Agricultural College in 1896, and in 1961 became Lincoln College, a constituent college of Canterbury University.