13 Comments

• +6 Sabrina says:

  What an incredibly Ontario-centric name. Rebranding UWO, a university that is in the eastern half of the country, to “Western University Canada” or “Western University” is absurd.

• -1 C says:

  Do you think westernusc.ca or @westernu were influential factors? How about the Mustang Fight Song?

• +5 Erving Goffman says:

  @Sabrina

  It’s all about streamlining, modernizing, globalizing and internationalization. Gotta keep things fresh and fast-paced. Synergy. Send me a Powerpoint, diversify it’s portfolio and we’ll expense it.

  But seriously, it’s like when they renamed the Skydome to the “Rogers Centre”. It’s still the Skydome and it always will be, despite Ted Rogers’ corporate dick-waving.

• +8 ADR says:

  Interesting that they claim the reaction to the re-branding has been positive. I’ve only seen overwhelmingly negative responses on the university Facebook site, and a variety of newspaper comment sections. I, as an alumnus and current student of UWO, despise this re-branding.

• +7 Darren '09 says:

  I graduated from the University of Western Ontario. To call my alma mater “Western University” is a slap in the face. What a waste of $200,000. Any drunk at the Spoke could have come up with that name in 8 seconds, not eight months.

• -2 Anonymouse says:

  UWO is not a world class university like UCLA, USC or UC Berkley, that is why it has to rebrand itself like some corporation and advertise through Apple-like ads. I was already feeling depressed about my useless Social Science degree, now I’m dreading spending one more year at “Western University Canada” to obtain a worthless piece of paper that will hardly get me a job waiting tables.

• +3 Erving Goffman says:

  @Anonymouse

  You go to Queen’s, don’t you?

• +6 JD says:

  I still don’t see what was wrong with the old logo(s). That sun is reminiscent of the British Columbian flag, and coupled with the “Western University” label, it might be presenting a strange image for a university located in Ontario.

  Oh and Anonymouse, that is some mighty weak trolling. Try not to make it so obvious and you’ll have better success.

• +7 Walt Cherwaty '62 says:

  Crisis here! Crisis there ! Everywhere a crisis ! Without even considering the other aspects of this matter , surely this is no time in our history to be spending $200,000 on such a frivolous item . With such needlessly wasteful spending is it any wonder our institutions are in such a financial mess ! Is it any wonder alumni such as myself will refuse to assist in any fund raising ventures ! Shame !

• +2 Sean says:

  Actually Darren ’09, I was informed the preparation and thought going into the new branding took around two years, not eight months

• adrenalynn says:

  Could the Gazette please do a piece on the new branding from the perspective of the actual people who count at UWO: the students? I’m sick of reading positive quotes from the Media department who’s on the payroll of UWO and is obligated to say positive things about the new rebranding without any consideration for the opinions of students, alumni and faculty – the people who actually have a stake in the university and will be associated with it for the rest of our lives. To not have consulted us fully was insulting enough (was it that hard, or expensive, to email and poll the students beforehand?) and now to have the Media department as our mouthpiece is just another kick to the face.

• +6 adrenalynn says:

  Could the Gazette please do a piece on the new branding from the perspective of the actual people who count at UWO: the students? I’m sick of reading positive quotes from the Media department who’s on the payroll of UWO and is obligated to say positive things about the new rebranding without any consideration for the opinions of students, alumni and faculty – the people who actually have a stake in the university and will be associated with it for the rest of our lives. To not have consulted us fully was insulting enough (was it that hard, or expensive, to email and poll the students beforehand?) and now to have the Media department as our mouthpiece is just another kick to the face.

• -1 Brian Elliott BSc'77 says:

  Personally I like some aspects of the new, simplified graphic and fully support the need for coherent branding across the spectrum of departments, schools and teams. Highlighting “Western” makes sense because that’s how she is known to us in the larger UWO family. That said, we didn’t need high priced help to tell us what we already knew.

  But for me, this issue is about more than the artwork for a jacket crest or hoodie or the consistency of purple used. There’s been a seismic shift foisted on our core identity that goes beyond what the mandate of the consultant should have been.

  At the time Western received its original charter, Canada’s population was about 4 million people and the majority of them lived east of London. With the rest of the country to the west numbering in only the tens of thousands, the first name “Western University of London, Ontario” didn’t seem out of place. But, it was never simply “Western University”. Circumstances necessitated a change in the 1920’s and she has been the “University of Western Ontario” ever since.

  There are those in administration who think that the legal name makes us appear as only a regional entity. Whereas I believe that leaving out the geographic reference is not only misleading, it devalues the contribution of the larger community that has historically supported the institution and its affiliate colleges financially, politically, culturally and spiritually. I disagree that acknowledging our regional identity somehow diminishes our international reputation. To infer that the reason we don’t snare a larger percentage of international students is because the name has “Ontario” in it is illogical. Quality candidates are attracted to the university through its reputation and the quality of the staff representing UWO abroad.

  Instead, we’re left with a slogan (Western University – Canada) that reinforces the belief, held by many of the other “Westerners” (those living in the Prairie and Mountain provinces), that Ontarians still think they’re the economic and political centre of the country. Don’t believe me? Just ask anyone you know living in Saskatchewan or Alberta what they think of the new name and how it reflects upon them. It’s laughable.

  Calling us “Western University – Canada” makes about as much sense as the University of Calgary re-branding itself as “Eastern University” because it’s located east of the Rockies.

  I would urge the Board of Governors and the Senate to re-visit their decision to allow communication vehicles that portray the university in a manner so inconsistent with the charter name.

  At the very least, the new, scalable artistic renderings could have been developed to include the charter name as inserted subtext above and below the more familiar moniker.

  Yes, we all call our alma mater “Western”, but to drop all reference to the charter name in the logo or it’s publications is wrong. To simply satisfy someone’s ego through a branding exercise, this was a colossal waste of $200 000.

  p.s.- For that price, too bad the consultant didn’t do a simple Google search first. The name “Western University” is already taken…by an institution in Baku, Azerbaijan.

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