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What Makes Us CC?

If CC no longer existed, what would its epitaph be?

Here’s a spooky question just a week before Halloween. Several of the staff and members of the President’s Council who filled out questionnaires had thoughtful ideas on this one. “Epic experience. Permanent lifestyle change.” “The Harvard of the West.” “Loved by many, respected by all.” “A grand experiment.” “We created excellent leaders.” “CC defined uniquely beautiful. Nestled in the beautiful mountain range of the Colorado Springs landscape, CC echoed the outward beauty and nostalgia of her campus with an inner beauty of creativity, integration and innovation.” Look for a visual display of these questionnaires in Worner Center next week.

Epitaph

The timeline for the Master Communications Plan project has been extended by a few months in order to be certain that we can get as much input and thinking as possible on the college’s identity. Look for campus forums in December and February; broad communications guidelines being adopted in late February, a final logo being chosen in March, and the final, full plan’s completion in April.

Now, back to that eerie question: What would your epitaph for CC be? Add your comments!

If you could change one thing about CC, what would it be?

Here’s our next question to prompt thinking about CC’s identity. Add your answers in comments below.

We’ve been busy: On Sept. 23, input boards with the questions you’re seeing here (and more to come) went up around campus to invite participation and ideas. You can find them in Worner Center near the Rastall entry, El Pomar Fitness Center, Tutt Library and Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center. Comments on the board asking “If you could change one thing about CC, IMG_2966what would it be?” ranged from “The Bubble” to “tuition” to “more diversity” to practical matters such as “better water pressure in Loomis,” “keep the C-store open for block breaks,” and “Rastall opens at 6:30 a.m.” One person wrote “The” in front of the “Colorado College” word mark, and added, “change it back and make it official!”

Also on Sept. 23, Victors & Spoils team members met with the Knowledge Development Team, which is made up of faculty, staff, students and an alumna. They updated the team on their work so far, and shared key comments they’ve gleaned from the CC community so far. They will be back soon to update the Special Projects Team of trustees working on the Communications Master Plan.

Staff attending the In the Loop all-staff meeting on Sept. 25 shared their answers to the questions via handouts. Many wrote that they were surprised that the 

IMG_2965president and professors go by their first names; that the campus community is so warm and welcoming; that the campus is so beautiful. On changing one thing: One noted that we seem to

compete over who’s most stressed; another suggested addressing that by bringing in support animals for students and employees. One suggested more service learning opportunities for students in the community — and better communication about those efforts to the community.

So, what do you think?

If you could change one thing about CC, what would it be?

 

 

 

Hello, let’s get started!

Blog image v.s. fye classWelcome to the “What Makes Us CC?” blog. This is a space where we can dig into the wonderful work of clarifying Colorado College’s identity. This project, officially called the Master Communications Plan project, is part of our strategic plan. Here, we’ll share our progress and ask for your input.

Victors & Spoils, led by CC alumnus John Winsor ’82, was chosen through an RFP process last spring to help us with this work. They will: 

  • Help us define the people aspect of our “program, place, people” differentiators: What kind of people are drawn to CC as students, faculty, staff? What kind of people are our alumni?
  • Conduct an audit/inventory of the college’s brand on communications pieces and on the physical campus. Work with the Campus Master Plan firm and team to ensure our “program, place, people” differentiators are evident in the physical campus.
  • Develop a new logo that better reflects our differentiators.
    • Includes graphic identity standards (specifics of how to use the new logo)
    • Includes brand architecture and rules for which mark to use when/where
  • Provide us with a strategy to authentically reflect what makes CC distinctive through our primary communications and the first impression made by the campus.

Last week, Victors & Spoils team members worked with First Year Experience classes taught by Associate Professor Steve Hayward and block visitor Katherine Carlstrom, and with a group of Film and New Media students gathered by Assistant Professor Clay Haskell. Soon, we’ll be asking members of the campus community to participate in activities to answer some key questions to help us get deeper into “what makes us CC.” We will share these questions here, too. Please share your thoughts! Here’s the first question: 

 What were you surprised about when you came to Colorado College?

 

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