Blog #5 Jour 4460: Kind of, Sort of Bold...Maybe

February 13, 2012 the University of North Texas revealed four new “bold goals.” They are as follows:

1.     Provide the best undergraduate educational experience in Texas

2.     Provide superior graduate education, scholarship and artistic endeavors and achieve status among the nation’s tier-one research institutions

3.     Become a national leader among universities in student support, employee relations, operational effectiveness and service to constituencies

4.     Establish UNT as a nationally recognized, engaged university and regional leader by building and expanding mutually beneficial partnerships and resources

The university did very well letting the students know about the event and what it would entail through the use of the school’s email system and Twitter. The majority of students I spoke to, however, heard about the event through the use of the Twitter hashtag #UNTBold. I think that the school should use Twitter as a main source of dispersing information because not a lot of students check their UNT email that often since they have other primary accounts with other services. I know before this semester, when a professor said she would only send messages through the UNT email, I might have checked that account every four to six months.

While, the school did a phenomenal job getting the message about the event out there, I must admit I was a little disappointed in the goals themselves. Hearing the word “bold” created in my mind a connotation that the school was going to step out of the box with the goals, create something with an in your face feeling. Because of this I was excited to go and hear what the faculty came up with. In truth though, I feel that these goals are stuff that any school should be doing anyway and that there’s nothing to bold about them. If anything “bold” should be changed to “ambitious.” 

At this event UNT also released a new motto and logo. “A green light to greatness,” is the motto and the logo looks like, to me, a cartoon version of a green stoplight, green sun or something that an energy company would use. The motto I’m a fan of, the logo not so much. I think with an entire degree plan dedicated to graphic design someone could have come up with something better.

The school wasted no time in spreading its new image. Often I have to leave for work hours before the sun even comes up, and on my way to work I passed a billboard with the new motto and logo up. I later heard my classmates say billboards were also changed in Dallas.

It has also crept its way on merchandise in the UNT bookstore located in the Union on campus. As soon as you stand in front of the entry ways the first thing a visitor, student or faculty will see is a display that is, in my opinion, bold.

Perhaps, over time, the lime logo will go me, but as of now I prefer the Mean Green eagle.