The New York State Board of Regents has approved the merger of Polytechnic University and New York University despite vehement opposition from some Polytechnic alumni and a critical report from the chairman of the State Senate’s Committee on Higher Education, NYU’s student newspaper, The Washington Square News, reported today.

Under the terms of the deal, the Brooklyn engineering school will be renamed the Polytechnic Institute of New York University. The state board approved an amendment altering Polytechnic’s educational charter to allow the merger.

The arrangement had been approved by trustees of both institutions, although it was bitterly opposed by some engineering alumni, who argued that Polytechnic was giving away control of their alma mater without assurances that it would benefit the institution.

In a statement on Polytechnic’s Web site, President Jerry Hultin called the merger “the perfect fit between two great universities.” The provost of NYU, David McLaughlin, released a similar statement, calling it “a great day for NYU, for Poly, and for New York.”

Unconvinced, some Poly alumni, current and former trustees, and faculty members filed a petition to delay the vote and to remove the entire board of the Brooklyn university, the alumni group said. —Katherine Mangan