Town Hall Meetings on New Branding Initiative

President Walter Harrison sent the following email to students, faculty, and staff on Wednesday, April 10.

Dear members of the University community:

President Obama’s visit to the University of Hartford on Monday has brought the University international visibility, from the Hartford Courant to the New York Times to the BBC. From Israel to India to California, alumni and prospective students have written to me to tell me how proud they are of the University.

President Obama’s visit came out of the blue, but for about a year we have been planning a University branding and marketing campaign aimed at increasing our visibility and reputation in a similar, if less singularly spectacular, way. We have been working with an outside agency that has a well-deserved reputation for helping other colleges and universities, 160over90 (ask them why this is their name), to define our institutional identity. Our partners from 160over90 will be on campus next week to present to the campus community the brand they have developed for us.

The group has made this presentation to a number of people around campus, including the vice presidents, deans, Board of Regents, and selected faculty and staff, and there was wide acclaim for what 160over90 has developed. I hope you will agree, and, if you don’t, I hope you will help us improve it.

We have scheduled two open town hall meetings, the first on Monday, April 15, from 9 to 11 a.m. in Wilde Auditorium, and the second on Tuesday, April 16, from 9 to 11 a.m. in Wilde Auditorium. I urge as many of you who can to attend.

The agency will also conduct two “brand camps,” their name for training sessions for the designers who work with various University units, on Monday afternoon. Mildred McNeill in the Office of Marketing and Communication will send information about these sessions. If you have questions about the brand camps, please contact her at mcneill@hartford.edu. 160over90 will also spend Tuesday through Friday photographing campus life in preparation for a new look in our print and online materials. Our goal is to have the first rollout of newly branded materials in the fall.

I hope you will be able to attend one of the presentations on Monday or Tuesday. Let’s let the world know how great we are!

Sincerely,

Walter Harrison
President