Hannibal-LaGrange College may change name

HANNIBAL, Mo. (AP) -- After 152 years of existence and 82 years with the same name, Hannibal-LaGrange College could soon become the University of Hannibal.

Trustees approved the name change in May and the Missouri Baptist Convention's executive board gave the go-ahead last week. All that remains is for the full convention to vote on the proposal in October.

If approved, the university says the official date for the name change will be Jan. 1.

The college started as LaGrange Male and Female Seminary in 1858. It changed names a few times before moving from LaGrange to Hannibal in 1928 and adopting the name Hannibal-LaGrange College.

It became a four-year institution in 1975 and offered its first advanced degree, a master of science in education, in 2007.