Name change update: Nov. 25

The following email was sent to all members of the GRU community at 9 a.m. Nov. 25.

Dear Colleagues,

As President Keel announced a few weeks ago, on Tuesday, Dec. 1, we will officially become Augusta University! I know that this changeover may raise a number of questions. I wanted to take this opportunity to share some information that may provide some clarity about where we are in the rebranding process.

As of Dec. 1, we are officially Augusta University. That date has been communicated to our accreditors and other regulatory agencies. However, as we all know, it will take some time for all of the organizations with which we work to switch over to our new name. The Office of Legal Affairs assures us that all of our existing agreements and contracts remain valid and in place after the name change.

Our new logo and wordmark will NOT be ready on Dec. 1 — although 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 literally thousands of faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends who have provided valuable feedback that has informed the creation of all of our new brand assets.

We have been very conscious of the fact that we are making decisions that will last long into the future, and we have been committed to “getting it right” rather than merely “getting it done.” We believe that we will be ready to roll out our new marks in mid-January, and we can’t wait to share them with you.

In the near term, there will be a brief period of time with a new name, but without new branding materials. 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 any number of organizations and universities. We want all of the great events and wonderful work of our institution to be readily recognized as part of Augusta University.
• If you have materials with the GRU/GRHealth logo on them, e.g., stationary, forms, PowerPoint presentations, uniforms, etc., please be good stewards of our institutional resources and 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 me or a member of the DCM staff. We will be happy to help you find a solution that will meet your needs.

We have received word from EDUCAUSE, the national governing body for educational domain names, that augusta.edu will be our new domain name. This choice was the overwhelming preference of our community. 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. EDUCAUSE has also allowed us to maintain gru.edu for a transitional period so that we may smooth the transition. We want to be thoughtful and deliberate in how we make this change, and we definitely do not want to do anything that would be disruptive at the end of an academic semester.

For now, our health system continues as GRHealth. We do 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, GRMC and GRMA 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 me or a member of the Division of Communications and Marketing at dcm@gru.edu or 706-721-7406.

Karla Leeper
Executive Vice President for Strategic Communication and Chief Marketing Officer