On July 12, UW System Board of Regents approved a new naming structure that would carry UW Oshkosh forward as a regional institution, representing the three campuses that have come together.

UWO Chancellor Andrew Leavitt said he’s pleased the Board of Regents approved the plan.

“We are stronger together, and we can serve the needs of more students,” Leavitt said. “Whether that is through access to education at Fond du Lac and Fox Cities or through the four-year Oshkosh campus, our University offers a wealth of opportunities.”

The naming structure came from a research study that invited students, parents and representatives of local communities to address what’s important to them regarding their campuses.

Leavitt said identity and branding for any university is important in terms of ability to attract students, bringing in graphic artist Darren Brzozowski to design the new lettermark, which uses the UWO acronym in a more prominent way.

“We underwent some marketing research to get a sense of what our brand is and what people think of us,” Leavitt said. “We needed to do something different with our visual identity simply because we were going to be adding campuses and communities that aren’t necessarily Oshkosh.”

The new look returns the University to its roots, creating a streamlined lettermark that represents the way many students, parents, alumni and communities already refer to the institution.

Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Strategic Partnerships Alex Hummel said the city and the communities’ names are prominent in the UWO branding, now that Fox Cities and Fond du Lac are part of the University.

“UWO is obviously strong, but these places are important to represent,” Hummel said.

Leavitt said it took a year for the change to happen, having conversations with the communities and awaiting approval from the Board of Regents.

“We were the last of all the joining institutions in the state to officially designate our access campuses with a new name,” Leavitt said. “We felt we should take our time and have a lot of folks in the communities involved with it and that’s what we did through our studies.”

Leavitt said over time there will be more changes to the campuses moving forward.

“The great promise of the joining is our ability to roll back the degree programs onto the Fox Cities and Fond du Lac campuses,” Leavitt said. “The cost of doing that instead of starting a new program, but rolling programs on, is much much lower. We’ll be able to create additional pathways for students to not only get an associate’s degree but a baccalaureate degree as well.”