The Board of Visitors meeting that concluded Saturday included a spirited discussion about how to best market the University's most distinctive values and highlighted several competing and diverse visions for the long-term direction of the University. The discussion took on particular significance as the University works to develop a brand that will be marketed to donors in the upcoming Capital Campaign.
"I think this discussion has been extremely useful," Board Rector Gordon F. Rainey, Jr. said. "We didn't have any illusions that this [campaign] was ready for primetime, but now we know it's not."
The ongoing discussion will shape the pan-University priorities and goals of the Capital Campaign, which will be formally kicked off in the fall of 2006. The development team will bring in an outside brand consultant to further refine the message. The team will identify the best plan to invest in philanthropy and bring the University closer to its goal of becoming the "first great public university," said Robert Sweeney, senior vice president for development and public affairs.
"Of course we're going to be a national and international research institution, but the question is what sets us apart," Sweeney said. "There is a legitimate tension between creating knowledge and the dissemination of knowledge. We want to be the place that links this stuff together."
The Board mulled over the balance between research and teaching, an American or global emphasis, the campaign's role as a starting point or a building block in the University's long term strategic vision and the roles of institutions specific to the University.
"Is this going to be a student experience or a research experience that drives most of the other major universities?" Sweeney asked to facilitate discussion about what a leading teaching and research institution such as the University should seek to highlight in its brand.
Some members said the message and brand should highlight the broadest possible spectrum of the University's reputation.
"Why does it have to be either/or?" Board member W. Heywood Fralin asked.
Others cautioned the dangers of overextending the message.
"We can't be everything," Board member Don R. Pippin said.
The extent to which the University should stress its strength in American studies also sparked discussion, as some Board members expressed concern that a message would be off-putting to students interested in the increasingly global atmosphere offered by other major research universities.
"While every other institution is going global, talking about globalization, we're emphasizing America and that's profound," Board member John O. Wynne said. "Maybe that's what differentiates us."
The University is most highly ranked for its preeminence in fields such as politics, history, English and law, departments which are characterized by their strong tie to American studies.
"We're not waving the flag of America," to the exclusion of other quality programs, Sweeney stressed. "We're saying, 'Why wouldn't this be the preeminent place to study America?'"
The University also is known for its language program, and the College's core curriculum includes a language competency requirement.
There was also concern that the discussion or possible redefinition of the brand could potentially make the campaign have a transformational effect on the University rather than serving as a building block on the existing institutional values, new Board member Alan A. Diamonstein said.
"We are where we want to be, and I want to emphasize that," Diamonstein said.
Institutions and values at the heart of life at the University, such as the honor system, will be a strong selling point for alumni but might be less effective with prospective students and their families, some members said.
"I think this school changes the vast majority of students in a fundamental way after they graduate," said Thomas Ferrell, currently vice-rector and soon to be rector. "Most students don't choose the University for these reasons."
Other members shared this sentiment, suggesting that the widely held perception of Jefferson's legacy has become tainted in recent years and a campaign with a strong emphasis on his values could carry liabilities as well as benefits in today's climate.
"What will pull at the hearts of donors of today and the past might be different than what will attract students," said Warren Thompson, chair of the Board's Special Commission on Diversity. "I'm less inclined to build our brand based on Jefferson."
As the discussion continued, some Baord members suggested that the large Board was not the most appropriate place to have this type of a dialogue and that it would be more effective to use smaller, more focused groups to refine the message, a task the marketing consultant and the development office already are undertaking.
"It shows how difficult identifying a brand is," said marketing consultant Gretchen Gehrett. "There has to be a maniacal emphasis on a few things that involves cutting away other things that are important to people."
Sweeney said he was confident the overall campaign would be a success, a feeling that was later reciprocated by several Board members who praised him at the end of the meeting.
"We are confident, but we are also running scared," Sweeney said. "We are in a pretty constant state of anxiety about getting this done."
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