I sincerely wish and hope that the UNISA name could be retained. Within my academic field (broadly speaking, the theological disciplines), as in many disciplines, there historically has been something of a prejudice against the whole DL phenomenon. However, UNISA for many years has enjoyed a solid reputation that, to a large degree, seems to have defied this prejudice. Recently, I have been maintaining a list of graduates of the UNISA Faculty of theology who hold academic posts in countries outside of South Africa. At present, this list stands at about 55 academics of whom I am aware. This includes individuals who earned master's and/or doctoral degrees at UNISA. Many of these individuals are department heads or leading scholars at highly reputable institutions throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Africa. This list of graduates suggests that UNISA has established a strong and rather unique standing within the international theological community. I will be saddened to see this institution's historic identity lost.
I bet the graduates of these renamed schools are going to wonder why they can't get any respect. The big plusses are the 100 year old names. If Mercedes merged with Yugo they would not change the name to Yugo.
