The Metropolitan State College of Denver Board of Trustees today voted 5-2 to pursue legislative authority to change the institution's name to "Denver State University."

The decision came at a special public board meeting on the Strategic Name Initiative at St. Cajetan’s Center where Sector Brands shared the results of their continuing name assessment. Nearly 100 people attended the meeting.

“We tried to provide as many avenues as possible for all constituents to weigh in on the process,” said Board Chair Robert Cohen of the comprehensive research conducted for the Strategic Name Initiative that included a combination of town hall meetings, stakeholder presentations, focus groups, one-on-one meetings and an electronic survey.

More than 8,700 people voted through the survey, with more than 80 percent supporting a new name for the College.

Denver State University and Metropolitan State University of Denver were the two names to emerge as the clear front runners among the following four names submitted for vote. Below is the breakdown of votes.

Denver State University 36.1%
Metropolitan State University of Denver 32%
Metropolitan State College of Denver 17.7%
University of Central Colorado 16.7%