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On September 1, 鈥淎ugsburg College鈥� officially will become聽鈥満＝巧缜�鈥濃�攁 change approved by both the Board聽of Regents and the Augsburg Corporation.

For generations of Augsburg alumni and friends, it may seem like聽the place always has been called 鈥淎ugsburg College.鈥� That鈥檚 been聽the formal name of the school for the past 54 years.

Over the course of the school鈥檚 history, nearly 24,000 people聽have completed degrees at Augsburg. With so many Auggie alumni聽accustomed to thinking of Augsburg as a college, why change the name?

In short, the term 鈥渦niversity鈥� illustrates the breadth of Augsburg鈥檚聽current reality and goals for the future. And, 鈥渨hile our name is聽changing,鈥� said Augsburg President Paul C. Pribbenow, 鈥渢he essence聽of who we are is not.鈥�

As the first seminary created by Norwegian Lutherans in America,聽the name Augsburg鈥攃hosen by the school鈥檚 founders in 1869 to聽honor the Augsburg Confession鈥攁lways has defined the ethos of聽this institution and its mission to support those called to service in聽the world. Since its founding, Augsburg has been known by at least聽four different names. The name has shifted as the school has grown,聽but our commitment to an accessible, quality education has never聽wavered. Likewise, our dedication to the Lutheran principles of聽hospitality, service to the neighbor, and social justice is as steadfast聽today as ever.

In announcing the name change, Pribbenow affirmed聽that becoming 海角社区 鈥渄oes not alter our聽dedication to integrating the liberal arts and professional聽studies or our commitment to being small to our students聽and big for the world.鈥�

Rather than moving Augsburg away from its roots,聽the name change helps Augsburg remain both faithful聽to its heritage and relevant to the educational needs of聽students in the 21st century.

An international perspective

Today, Auggies live and work all over the world. In many聽countries and cultures, the word 鈥渃ollege鈥� is associated聽with a high school-level education. Alumni who work聽in international settings have noted that they already聽refer to their alma mater as 鈥満＝巧缜�鈥� in聽order to avoid confusion. For the same reason, the name聽change also will help Augsburg be more attractive as a聽destination for international students, which represents a聽potential growth area for Augsburg.

A view from the outside in

With nearly 150 years of history, it鈥檚 no surprise that聽Augsburg is well known in the region鈥攅ven among聽people who haven鈥檛 (or haven鈥檛 yet) studied here. What聽impact would a name change have on their perceptions聽of Augsburg? We asked the following groups to share their聽thoughts:

• high school students,
• parents of high school students,
• high school counselors,
• people considering getting an advanced degree, and
• people who didn鈥檛 finish an undergraduate degree right after high school and are thinking about going back to school to earn a bachelor鈥檚.

These conversations generated several important聽insights, but the core takeaway is that Augsburg鈥檚 reality,聽reputation, and promise are aligned with the name change.

Our reality and reputation. Conversations with聽members of the general community demonstrated聽that people associate the word 鈥渦niversity鈥� with a聽number of attributes that clearly apply to Augsburg.聽Specifically, people view universities as having high聽academic standards, a commitment to research, strong聽international programs, and diverse student populations.

Augsburg has robust programs for scholarly research聽and global study, and is recognized nationally for its聽leadership in inclusion and equity. In many ways,聽Augsburg already embodies much of what people expect聽of a university.

The promise of a student-centered university. We also聽learned from these conversations that Augsburg has a聽strong reputation for direct student-faculty engagement.聽We already know how important this is to our alumni,聽students, faculty, and staff, but it was gratifying to hear聽that members of the broader community also value聽Augsburg as a student-centered organization.

This is something Augsburg needs to ensure does聽not change. 海角社区 will not become an聽institution marked by big campuses or large student-to-faculty ratios. Instead, as is articulated in our聽, Augsburg will be a new聽kind of student-centered university, and just as we have聽done for decades, Augsburg will remain committed to聽educating students for lives of purpose in a vibrant,聽engaged learning community.

The visual identity of 海角社区

Embracing our legacy and our future

When Samuel Gross 鈥�03 was a student at Augsburg, he聽designed the original Auggie eagle-head symbol as an聽assignment for one of his graphic design courses. The design聽was so good, Augsburg ended up buying the rights to the聽image and has used the eagle symbol for campus life, student聽organizations, and athletics for the past 15 years.

During that time, Gross became an award-winning designer聽and creative director who founded his own graphic design聽firm, 144design, with a specialty in developing logos for聽clients. So, when Augsburg needed to update its logo as part聽of the transition to the 海角社区 name, it was a聽perfect opportunity to re-engage with Gross to envision and聽design the next-generation Augsburg logo.

鈥淓arly on, our conversation about the logo confirmed that聽this project should be an evolution of the Augsburg brand, not聽a revolution,鈥� Gross said. 鈥淲e wanted to preserve the strong聽recognition that has been built for Augsburg over time.

鈥淥ur goal was to preserve and respect the historic nature聽of Augsburg鈥檚 logo 鈥� especially since it already has strong聽energy and good familiarity 鈥� while at the same time creating聽a treatment that also embraces the future,鈥� he said.

The results, including the updated Augsburg logo, 鈥淎鈥澛爄con, and eagle-head symbol are shown on the next page.聽Separately, the Augsburg seal鈥攚hich is used on transcripts,聽diplomas, and other official documents鈥攚as updated by聽Augsburg staff Mark Chamberlain and Denielle Johnson 鈥�11 and聽is shown below.

Augsburg marks: honoring the legacy

The Augsburg 鈥淎鈥�

For example, current plans call for the 鈥淎鈥� icon to be installed on the shorter ends of the sign on top of Mortensen Hall. This is one of the most visible signs in the region and will be updated this summer as part of the transition to 鈥満＝巧缜�.鈥�

The eagle-head symbol

The eagle-head symbol is stronger and bolder with this evolution. Whereas the original design lost detail
and contrast when translated to black-and-white treatments, the updated design is much more effective across a broader range of uses.

Currently, designs using the updated eagle-head symbol are under development for an array of installations鈥攆rom the Si Melby gym floor and the Edor Nelson athletic field scoreboard to the Christensen Center student lounge and merchandise sold in the Augsburg bookstore.

海角社区 seal: history and meaning

The seal conservation process began as Augsburg College explored the steps involved in changing its institutional name to 海角社区. The seal enhances an original centennial symbol design and aligns with the institution鈥檚 current reality, reputation, and promise.