Williams Baptist College is taking on a new name.
The private four-year school in Walnut Ridge will officially be Williams Baptist University in fall 2018, according to a news release. The school has offered more than 25 bachelor's degree programs, and it started its first graduate program, a Master of Arts in Teaching, last spring, it said in the release.
School President Tom Jones said the "university" name will help the school dispel misconceptions.
"Although we became a four-year institution in 1984, there is a lingering perception of Williams as a junior college," he said. "And while we are very proud of our truly outstanding Christian ministries program, many fail to perceive that 94 percent of our students are majoring in other areas and preparing for careers in medicine, business, education and other fields."
Jones announced the name change to the campus Wednesday. The school, which had been weighing the new name for more than two years, got approval from its board of trustees Friday.
The school will make a gradual transition to Williams Baptist University over the course of the next several months, Jones said.
The school -- founded in 1941 as Southern Baptist College -- will celebrate the end of the transition period during an August ceremony, the release said.
Metro on 09/21/2017