The University of Iowa received approval from the state Board of Regents in a virtual meeting Thursday to change the name of the School of Urban and Regional Planning. The school will now be called the School of Planning and Public Affairs to better reflect what students learn within it. 

UI Provost Montserrat Fuentes presented the name-change proposal to the board on Thursday, saying the school offers a masters degree in urban regional planning, which has been fully accredited for seven years. 

After witnessing changes and growth at the School of Urban and Regional Planning last year, the UI created a second masters program within the school, Fuentes said. As The Daily Iowan previously reported, a Masters of Public Affairs was approved by the board in September 2019. The program will begin admitting students in the fall of the 2020-21 academic year. 

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Because there have been changes in the disciplinary and employment environment of the school recently, Fuentes said a name change is necessary to better represent what the school offers to students.

“The request to change the name of the school to reflect [its] expanded curricular offerings will not impact the current masters programs,” she said. “It also does not require any additional financial resources.”