Winter 2012 President's Letter

From These Grounds

by President William G. Durden '71

Dear Dickinsonians:

When I arrived at Dickinson in 1999 and began to engage with alumni across the country and the globe, I was struck by the number of positive comments I heard from alumni about their student experience, in particular the quality of their education. Any concerns usually centered on a lack of name recognition for Dickinson within their communities and among their business contacts.

Some people remarked that Dickinson was not well known beyond central Pennsylvania, except in academic circles, while others noted that the general public didn’t widely recognize the college’s high-quality education. Let’s be honest—our college often was confused with another fine institution in northern New Jersey with a similar name. Another concern on campus was that the college seal alone was being used to publicly represent the college image. Treasured though it may be, the seal is a busy and not easily read artifact. While alumni found it appealing, it was not a draw for prospective students and the general public.

To address these issues of identity, in 2000 the college introduced a comprehensive identity system consisting of a newly designed wordmark (logo)—a compass rose—in a variety of vibrant colors and encircled by “Dickinson College.” This wordmark was just one of many new initiatives, including an aggressive marketing strategy, to raise the visibility and name recognition of the college. The wordmark permitted the college’s name to be read clearly, especially when used as a backdrop in photos and on television, which was not possible with the seal.

With the introduction of the new identity system, the seal did not disappear, despite much rumor to the contrary. It was, however, returned to its original intent as stated by our founders—to appear on all official college documents (diplomas, legal contracts, etc.) and in official ceremonies. The seal was never meant to be used as a logo appearing on items ranging from cafeteria trays (remember those?) to garbage trucks, trash cans and Dumpsters—not appropriate for a most venerable symbol. Therefore, to restore dignity to the seal and to heighten the college identity, we very purposely reserved its use for more formal purposes and commenced using the new compass-rose wordmark for marketing.

Twelve years later, it is evident that we have indeed made great strides in increasing Dickinson’s visibility and position as a nationally recognized liberal-arts college. This is evidenced through numerous admissions measures (e.g., increased number of applications, increased geographic, socioeconomic and racial diversity, decreased acceptance rate), through national recognition of academic areas such as global education, sustainability and the sciences, and through the increased number of times Dickinson is mentioned in the national media (56 in 1999 vs. 1,625 in 2010).

Most important, we have heard from many of you—alumni and parents—who have shared the wonderful comments you’ve received about Dickinson when asked where you or your children went to college. We are often cited today in the media no longer as “Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa.,” but rather as “Dickinson College” or merely “Dickinson.” During the retirement ceremony this August for Gen. David Petraeus, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen referred to Petraeus’ wife Holly Knowlton ’74 and daughter Anne ’04 as Dickinson graduates. No further explanation was needed.

We knew 11 years ago that the compass rose would serve its purpose and that we would eventually return to what we love—our simple name and our seal—now properly regarded. At this point we can retire the compass rose and launch a new identity system that includes a wordmark that simply states “Dickinson,” juxtaposed with our college seal.

We are now at a place where we can confidently and boldly assert ourselves—unadorned. Many of you—including yours truly—missed seeing the seal on items in the college’s bookstore, so you can anticipate a reprise in the future.

As always, I welcome your comments and insights as we move forward with this new identity system. The future is now our past.


Published January 2, 2012