No legal agreement yet on schools' use of 'KU' / LJWorld.com

Archive for Friday, June 16, 2006

June 16, 2006

The KU-KU public relations debacle is not over yet.

After spending more than a year developing a new "visual identity" and logo, Kansas University last fall discovered its "KU" letters bear striking resemblance to the wordmark used by the small Pennsylvania school Kutztown University.

There's never been a significant huff about Kutztown's use of the letters.

But in a move to ensure Kansas' hold on the wordmark, Paul Carttar, Kansas' executive vice chancellor for external affairs, in March announced both schools were weeks away from a legal agreement ensuring Kansas' rights.

That agreement apparently remains on the drawing board.

"We're not there yet," Carttar said. "I really have no estimate of when we'll be done."

Kutztown spokesman Philip Breeze said nothing has changed since March and could not say whether representatives from both universities were working on any agreement.

"What I'm doing is standing by to report any news if it happens," Breeze said.

But, Breeze said, there wasn't anything to report.

Carttar said both schools are substantially closer to an agreement than they were months ago.

"They have our latest draft," Carttar said. "We're waiting for their response."

Kutztown, which has 9,800 students, draws at least 90 percent of its enrollment from within Pennsylvania. But the two schools' logos could clash when Kansas reaches out to possible students in the Quaker State, Carttar has said.

Kansas University logo

Kutztown University's logo

Kansas has traditionally drawn a small number of students from Pennsylvania - about 50 were reported on the Lawrence and Edwards campuses in 2005.

Meanwhile, Kansas has seen no problems with Kutztown's use of the wordmark.

"They haven't changed what they're doing," Carttar said. "We don't have any particular concerns over what they've done and what they're doing."

Kansas spent $88,900 developing the logo as part of a visual identity overhaul that included the updating of everything from web pages to official stationery.

Schools and departments are rolling out new items donning the new logo as they use up the old stuff.

"We do not want people throwing anything away," said David Johnston, Kansas marketing director.

Some may see remnants of the old styles on athletic uniforms or other items.

Johnston said some items were ordered before Kansas rolled out its new visual identity last fall, and he expects they'll incorporate the new designs when replacements are ordered.

"The next time a unit has to update something, we encourage them to start using the new identity," he said. "My guess is by the end of next year, we should be almost complete."

Discussion

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16 June 2006
at 7:38 a.m.

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thomgreen (Anonymous) says…

This has to be one of the biggest wastes of time and manpower. KU is known by the Jayhawk, what was wrong with that?
16 June 2006
at 8:32 a.m.

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ljreader (Anonymous) says…

Ban fonts.
16 June 2006
at 2:03 p.m.

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shodgesil (Anonymous) says…

maybe we should change to uk for universtiy of kansas and then at least have a debate with a school (IE: university of kentucky) that has a decent basketball team.
16 June 2006
at 2:42 p.m.

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bankboy119 (Anonymous) says…

shod,

Can be the first to request $100,000 to develop the new school logo?
17 June 2006
at 12:12 p.m.

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lirpasloofyad (Anonymous) says…

Given Kutztown University's lack of concern for its host community, many locals have suggested that it relinquish its claim to “KU” be renamed something that could be abbreviated to “FU,” instead.
17 June 2006
at 12:40 p.m.

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anonimiss (Anonymous) says…

Posted by thomgreen (anonymous) on June 16, 2006 at 7:38 a.m.

This has to be one of the biggest wastes of time and manpower. KU is known by the Jayhawk, what was wrong with that?

Nothing. What's wrong is paying somebody from out of state tens of thousands to redo your identity, and have them say nothing. So they had to come up with something. They couldn't just come in and say everything's fine, take the money, and leave.

If it had been somebody from instate, they would have known the rich history of Jayhawkers in Kansas, and probably chose to make it the official logo. But alas, the misconception that the Jayhawk is a mythical bird made up for the purpose of being a mascot for the athletic teams prevailed, and it has since been shunned.
17 June 2006
at 12:42 p.m.

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anonimiss (Anonymous) says…

I say we get rid of the bird mascot and start putting the picture of John Brown holding a gun and bible on everything. Much scarier than a bird. And academically relevant also. Still a Jayhawk.