Hello, Augusta University!

Dear Colleagues,

As of today, we are proudly and officially Augusta University!

Below are a few important points to remember as we transition into the next chapter of our university’s future.

Our new logo and word mark will NOT be ready today — though we are getting very close.

Great progress has been made developing our new brand assets — logos, word marks, spirit marks, etc. — that will visually communicate our new identity. We are grateful to the thousands of faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends who have provided valuable feedback that has informed the creation of our new brand assets.

We believe that we will be ready to roll out our new marks in mid-January.

And we are incredibly excited to share them with you. However, between then and now, there will be a brief period of time where the university has a new name but no new branding materials.

In the interim, please use these guidelines until the new brand assets are released in January:

• Our name is Augusta University on first reference and “Augusta” on subsequent references. It is preferred that we not use “AU,” as that acronym is already used by several other organizations and universities. We want all of the great events and wonderful work of our institution to be readily recognized as being a part of Augusta University.
• If you have materials with the GRU/GRHealth logo on them, e.g., stationery, forms, PowerPoint presentations, uniforms, etc., please continue to use them.
• If you create new materials for the university, e.g., communications, flyers, PowerPoint presentations, etc., do not use logos at all.

• If your operations allow, please try to avoid ordering new materials until the new brand assets are available.

• If you have a branding-related question specific to a project that you are completing or to a deadline that you are managing, don’t hesitate to contact Karla Leeper, executive vice president for strategic communication and chief marketing officer, or any other member of the Division of Communications and Marketing staff. We will be more than happy to help you find a solution that will meet your needs.

Other points to remember moving forward:

We have received word from EDUCAUSE, the national governing body for educational domain names, that augusta.edu will be our new domain name.

It will take us some time to change our website and our email over to this new domain name. In the next few weeks, we will be sharing more information about the plan for this transition. Stay tuned to Jagwire for the latest information.

For now, our health system will continue as GRHealth.

We anticipate that their board will be taking up the subject of their name soon, and we will update you on any developments related to GRHealth, Georgia Regents Medical Center and Georgia Regents Medical Associates as appropriate.

We in DCM are grateful for your support, your opinions and your patience as we work through the rebranding process. This is and continues to be a complex process.

If you have questions on specific uses of name and/or brand assets over the next several weeks, please contact Karla Leeper or any other member of the Division of Communications and Marketing at dcm@gru.edu or 706-721-7406.

Thank you for your patience and support, Augusta University.

And Go Jags!