UA to create new VP position focused on branding

[madDOG]

This is very positive, and something many of us have been talking about for years.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2015/02/10/ualbany-to-create-new-vice-president-position.html

 

 

Robert Jones, president of University at Albany, will hire a vice president to oversee the college's branding efforts.

The vice president would oversee media and communications, web presence, marketing and branding, among other responsibilities. Jones outlined the new position at a university senate meeting Monday.

Jones, who has led the 17,000-student university for two years, has listed improving the academic reputation of the college as one of his top priorities.

He says the university is known by several names. UAlbany needs a clearer message about the growth of the college over the past decade, as well as where the university is headed in the future, he says.

UAlbany is developing two new colleges, a college of engineering and a college of emergency preparedness, homeland security and cybersecurity.

 

[BestDaneSinceHamlet]

I wonder if replacing the @ with "Of" is part of that clearer branding. Personally, I think Albany University would be better on brand because its the most different of all the names in the past, plus sounds the least "State school" Thought we'd have to get rid of the UA Uknow chant and that would sadden me.

[GDBD]

So we'd have to change it to "Hey you.... We're A U" ????? hahahahahahaha

[Michigan_Dane]

My thinking on this has evolved. I too focused a lot on dropping the 'U' or dropping the 'at' from our name. Those tweaks are too small.

 

We need a completely new name. We lost SUNY Poly because it was argued this Nano College needed to be a statewide initiative not something just in "Albany". So our name in part lost of the Nano College. Also, what sense does it make for Brooklyn's SUNY Down State to be part of "Albany"? The name "Albany" has become a hindrance as we're grown. We need a name that is bigger than "Albany". Something that doesn't hold us back.

 

SUNY Albany, Albany State, UAlbany, Albany, UA.... It's a mess. Dump it all and start with a clean name that is not geographic. I think this new position is part of the SUNY Down State discussions. "Albany" can't have a campus in Brooklyn but a non-geographic named university such as a campus named after a former governor could have different locations.

 

Lots of colleges are named after people. John Jay is part of CUNY. Duke, Stanford, Emory, etc. Since we know we'll never get "University of New York" I think they should look at other options.

[Clickclack]

Very positive development...I gotta say, Jones has been a breath of fresh air. This man is working his arse off to grow this University.

[BestDaneSinceHamlet]

Mario Cuomo University!

[Eli]

THIS IS AWESOME and just what need.

Here is what I'd, personally, like to see happen:

1) Officially, at MINIMUM in sports sense, we be known as UAlbany or just Albany. That's it. No University of/at Albany, not Albany University, not SUNY Albany, etc. No one says "Miami University". They say "Miami". Same for "Syracuse"...almost no one puts "University" at the end when talking about the school's sports teams.

Too bad, as mentioned above, we'll never her the ability to call ourselves the University of NY. UF, UK...and UNY. Ahh, would be nice.

Personally, I think the UA UKnow chant is dumb. It sounds like something a typical teen would yell...followed by a nice loud "YOLO!" lol. I'm in my mid-20's, but to me it sounds dumb. I much prefer the U....A chant that they used to do on opposite sides of the student sections a few years ago.

2) We get some REAL, legitimate merchandise to spread the image. Meaning, real jerseys for at least football and basketball. Better hats, coats, etc. for the people that are into those things. Our lack of official Nike/Adidias/whoever apparrel is sad.

3) We start posting more posters, etc. about our athletics in all parts of the campus. The lack of material on chalkboards, bulletin boards, etc. related to sports is insane. It's non-existent.

4) PLEASE UPDATE OUR WEBPAGE. That thing looks like it was created on Lycos in 1992 (for those who remember what Lycos was). A great example is www.towsontigers.com. Also, if possible, change the domain name from UAlbanySports.com to something like www.AlbanyGreatDanes.com or www.UAlbanyGreatDanes.com.

5) Fix our video feeds. No better way to bring in out-of-town fans (such as our alum who live in other parts of the nation) than to have a properly well developed video/audio feed. Many of us have complained about DaneZone in the past.

Edited February 11, 2015 by Ilko

[BestDaneSinceHamlet]

I almost forgot. You guys knew this one was coming..but as far as branding goes..MORE DAMIEN THE DANE! I want to see that logo at center court, at midfield, everywhere. I noticed its on the side of the legs of the mens baskeball shorts, so that's a start. Way more distinct than the multi-colored A that we see now.

[Eli]

I almost forgot. You guys knew this one was coming..but as far as branding goes..MORE DAMIEN THE DANE! I want to see that logo at center court, at midfield, everywhere. I noticed its on the side of the legs of the mens baskeball shorts, so that's a start. Way more distinct than the multi-colored A that we see now.

 

Agreed!

[alexfamous]

IMO, the UA Uknow chant is a student section chant. I always thought it boosts morale during the games. Like the olè (UA) chant.

 

When i was a student and went to the TU for the siena game, i would yell that chant when the clock read 0:00.

[madDOG]

What are the reasons why the school couldn't be renamed 'University of New York' or 'New York State University'?

[Underpar]

At the risk of being different I would suggest something entirely new. I still think the most interesting part of the campus is that it looks like a starship. I know we have had a mutt as our mascot for a long time but I still like the idea of The Albany Starship. Tell me a bunch of students wouldn't love to come to games dressed as Kirk, Spock, Vulcans and Klingons. Maybe The Albany Klingons!

[Dane96]

You've all lost your collective minds.

[uofalbany]

Mario Cuomo University!

 

Has brain rot started settling in?

[Underpar]

"A Klingon's honor means more to him than his life!". Kurn.