The purpose is to refine UAF's existing image and promote those strengths that are most important to our audiences. We will then create a marketing approach that will serve all parts of UAF up to our centennial and beyond. The benefits are significant, including the potential to increase enrollments and philanthropic support.

UAF will benefit from a more strategic and coordinated approach to how it's presented to strengthen public understanding about what UAF is and does, and even what isn't UAF. Too many messages and images obscure what UAF is, does and promises to do.

Logos and taglines like "America's Arctic University" are only one component of an institutional brand and brand strategy. Our brand is the effect on the stakeholder -- a student, graduate, donor, community member, etc. -- of what we do and how we do it. It is built by the experience and interactions our stakeholders have with us.

It will be challenging, but it is possible. Many institutions have successfully undergone branding, and it's generally seen as a more efficient way to promote an organization.

University and Student Advancement, specifically the Marketing and Communications department, are leading the project. Chancellor Rogers has appointed a Strategic Marketing Committee to provide broad input on the project, and a sub-group of the larger committee worked directly with Marketing and Communications during the initial stages. The Nerland Agency was hired to conduct focus groups and provide positioning statements that were later tested with our stakeholders. Nerland is also helping develop the Brand Book, a guidebook on our brand for the campus, as well as the initial marketing campaign scheduled to begin in November 2012.

As noted in the message from Chancellor Rogers, the need for a strong identity is vital to remaining competitive. A strong brand helps us promote the institution, recruit and retain students, gain public support and increase funding for the future.

For now, yes. However, per Chancellor Rogers, there will be no new logos created or approved at this time. While the branding strategy isn’t just a logo, it’s best practice to keep the number of logos to a minimum. This helps strengthen the overall brand.

Departments will not have to throw out anything. But as they update or create materials using their department budget as they normally would, they will work closely with Marketing and Communications to make sure everyone is using approved strategies as well as images.

The UAF logo currently in use can be found and downloaded at www.uaf.edu/marketing/standards/graphic/logo_downloads/.

UAF's graphic standards are explained at www.uaf.edu/logo/.