Rebranding

Change in university logo, seal stirs controversy on Jonesboro campus

By Roy Ockert Jr.

Aug. 24, 2013

Arkansas State University officials have what they call a “new brand identity plan,” which has some longtime ASU supporters concerned that it’s a step away from an important milestone.

A new university logo has already been adopted, unveiled to the Board of Trustees in May, and Jeff Hankins, ASU System vice president for strategic communications, said he would make a presentation to the Deans Council at Jonesboro on Monday and later to other constituency groups. More information is forthcoming.

Hankins said the plan has been in the works for more than a year.

The new university logo is the block “STATE,” which actually consists of a large capital A with the other letters in smaller capitals — all in red and black ink. “Arkansas State University,” in smaller type but also all-caps, appears below.

A Logos document on the ASU Web site, as revised June 30, says, “The University Logo is the cornerstone of the Arkansas State University identity system. As the primary identifier of the university, the University Logo has been developed to consistently represent the university in all of its communications. Over time, consistent and repeated use of this mark will establish equity and strengthen the greater visual identity of the institution. ...”

The STATE logo replaces a logo that featured the ASU acronym, with a torch designed into the A, and “Arkansas State University” in small block letters under it. But several variations have been used, even on official publications.

The torch was also used in the official ASU seal, now redesigned to replace the torch with a laurel wreath.

Apparently, fire was considered “hostile and abusive,” like the university’s also abandoned Indian mascot.

I’m kidding about that, of course.

But these changes have created a buzz on the Jonesboro campus.

In an open letter to the faculty Curtis Steele, professor of art, wrote on Aug. 7: “The Arkansas State University seal formerly had the light of illumination (knowledge, education, enlightenment, etc.) as its focus. The new seal for ‘A-STATE’ has replaced the torch with a laurel wreath, the award given the victor of an athletic event (and victorious generals, conquerors) going back to the Greeks.”

(The laurel wreath has also been used in higher education to symbolize the attainment of a master’s degree.)

“We are now told to call the institution A-STATE. Not ASU. Not ASUJ (although the new seal includes the word Jonesboro),” Steele wrote. “And the academic logo for colleges and departments is now the generic-looking STATE athletic identifier. This A-STATE identifier started creeping in a few years back when staff and workers in Admissions (and possibly other areas of the institution as well) were told to answer their phones with ‘Thank you for calling A-STATE …’ instead of the previous ‘Thank you for calling Arkansas State University.’”

Other faculty also commented, including Dr. John D. Hall, professor of psychology and counseling, who pointed out that many people “fought hard over a number of years with much opposition for Arkansas State College to gain university status in 1967” and therefore earn the right to the ASU acronym. His father, the late Ray Hall Sr., a longtime A-State administrator, was one of the key people in that fight.

Dr. Bill Smith, who became ASU’s executive director of marketing in July, explains the change differently. He said Thursday that the university is not trying to tell anyone not to use the acronym ASU. For the sake of consistency, letterheads, stationery, business cards and other published materials will carry the STATE logo.

However, that doesn’t affect, for example, the content of news releases that go out under the STATE logo. Writers will be encouraged to refer to the university on second reference as A-State but will also be free to use ASU. In fact, it’s good writing to vary your secondary references.

Use of “A-State” at least once in every release will help identify the document as referring to Arkansas State University and not to other “ASU” institutions with higher national recognition, i.e., Arizona State University. Smith said the latter won the search engine “battle” for that acronym long ago.

Actually, I like the unique STATE logo, which has been around for a number of years, for another reason. In the years leading up to university status, when I was a student editor of the college newspaper and yearbook, we stopped using the acronym ASC and started using A-State almost exclusively for every secondary reference. Perhaps out of that long-ago developed habit, I still use A-State frequently in my writings and conversations.

But ASU is also historically symbolic. For the 1967 yearbook, which had to be printed in part before the Legislature passed the ASU bill, a photographer and I arranged for the residents of a then-new women’s dormitory to spell out ASU in lights one night. We photographed it and used that photo on the sheets connecting the book to its cover.

Try to do that with A-STATE or even STATE.

One reason for the controversy is that the administration chose not to bring the various constituency groups into the decision-making process, but rather to announce the decision after the fact. We saw something similar with the Kays House and Red Wolf Boulevard issues. Such strategy ignores a valuable resource and invites criticism.

If you want unity, involve your community.

Roy Ockert is editor emeritus of The Jonesboro Sun. He may be reached by e-mail at royo@suddenlink.net.