The Northwest Ohio branding project I mentioned a few weeks ago is off to a fast start. We are working on the coordination of community outreach activities so I will be reporting back in the near future on how you can express your thoughts about the new brand for our region;
Also, we are working on a new Web site to feature our new Rocket-themed items. We’ll be featuring traditional items such as ties and hats but also debuting new items like belts, lady scarfs, children’s books, flip-flops and other innovative and fun ways to show your UT pride. The website will be launched prior to the holidays, and I’ll let you know so you can start your gift buying early;
Matt Lockwood, our UT PR guru received a request from People Magazine. They are searching for compelling human interest story ideas and heroes from our community to be developed into an inspirational article for People Magazine. If you have any ideas, let me know so I can pass them on to Matt;
Don’t forget that our last home football game is this Friday evening at 7 p.m. against the Eastern Michigan Eagles, and since it’s Friday it’s an opportunity to show your Rocket Friday spirit by rocking your blue and gold. And I know a lot of people around campus are asking about the new UT bow-ties for bow-tie Fridays. They arrived last week so they are now available…just let me know and I will reserve yours.
I recently received an announcement from our local United Way regarding an education summit they are sponsoring on Thursday, November 19th at the Dana Center on the UTMC Campus. This is another great example why supporting the United Way Campaign is so important to our community.
Our University wide campaign is well underway and some departments that stand out are IT, General Library Services, Marketing, and The Law School. Well done to these fine people and I urge all departments to rally for the communities needs…which have never been greater.
To RSVP for the education summit go to www.toledograduates.eventbrite.com
Enjoy your week, regards, Larry.
I think we would all agree that Toledo and Northwest Ohio can use an image enhancement.
I am pleased to report that a collection of community organizations are banding together to start a process which will result in a game plan and road map for the Toledo brand. Organizations including The Toledo Community Foundation, The Toledo Mud Hens, The Greater Toledo Urban League, The Chamber of Commerce, Bowling Green State University and The University of Toledo are united in this effort to attract MORE business, MORE students, and MORE visitors to our community.
The outcome of this exercise will be much more than a logo or an advertising campaign. We will develop a process and a plan to strategically communicate all of the wonderful attributes that make our region a great place to live, work and play. We will be conducting focus groups from dozens of clusters that make up the community. From Wood County to Sylvania. From the Restaurant Association to the Arts Commission. From the Home Builders Association to Cedar Point. I will also be making an individual survey available on this journal for all of you…to tell us what you think.
Stay tuned…I think we have a real opportunity to get it right.
A very important and exciting milestone occurred this past Wednesday at the University of Toledo.
The UT Minority Business Incubator opened for business. The opening ceremonies included comments from Dr. Lloyd Jacobs and Dr. Rosemary Haggett as well as the Mayor of Toledo, Mr. Carty Finkbeiner.
But, it was really the comments from the community representatives that made the day so special in my mind. Comments from Mr. Vince Wiggins, president of the Toledo African American Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Gary Johnson, president of the Northwest Ohio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; and Mr. George Robinson, II, director of the Minority Contractors Business Assistance Program were remarkable.
George Robinson, II talks at the Minority Business Incubator grand opening
These gentlemen spoke of the University’s commitment to diversity and how important this incubator will be in helping minority businesses get started, grow and become successful elements of our economic infrastructure. Their collective comments pointed out that the University of Toledo is now taking active and real steps forward in diversity and in particular the development of minority owned businesses. I’m extremely proud to be part of this initiative and look forward to welcoming clients into the incubator and working with our College of Business as we encourage and guide these entrepreneurs as they reach for their dreams.
I want to thank Dr. Shanda Gore and Kara Mominee for their leadership in developing this initiative. And there is also a large group of people that worked as a team to make this a reality. People like Megan Reichert, Chuck Lehnert, Steve Wise, Bob Mackowiak, Laurie Flowers and others who worked so hard to get the building ready for the opening. I have never been more proud to be part of the University of Toledo than I was yesterday. Stop by the UT Scott Park Campus of Energy and Innovation and take a firsthand look at whats happening.
If you have any questions about the incubator please feel free to contact Shanda or myself at any time.
Another active week has started at our University of Toledo. These are truly exciting times with so many opportunities to get involved and so many different activities to participate in… there literally is something for everybody.
I had the opportunity to go to the Rocket football game Saturday in Cleveland. What a spectacular Saturday afternoon for us to highlight many aspects of our University. I know that the football game did not turn out like we had hoped, but I considered it a tremendous overall success.
First, we had the opportunity to showcase many of our programs and initiatives at the University before, during, and after the game. The two large video boards were constantly showcasing our University, our people and our programs.
Secondly, the Rocket Marching Band was fabulous and there was clearly a spirit of mutual respect between the Marching Rockets and the Ohio State band. Thirdly, the television exposure also gave us an opportunity to let the state, the region, and the country know that the University of Toledo has arrived and they will be hearing more from us in the future. I congratulate Mike O’Brien for his vision in putting this game together and allowing us to be once again on the big stage.
Check out the current issue of the UT News… there is a complete listing of the LGBT history month events that will start in the very near future. Hats off to Anthony Kapp and his associates for getting this so well-organized and offering so many different and interesting programs.
I hope many of you take the opportunity to see and hear Mr. Jon Meacham during his visit on Thursday, September 24 for a free program beginning at 7:30 PM in the Student Union on the main campus, just another example of why the University of Toledo offers the most broad array of activities of any place in Northwest Ohio.
And lastly, I hope you take the opportunity to listen to the September edition of Environmentally Sound on WJR 760. We have a variety of guests including UT faculty members and corporate leaders from around the region. At seven o’clock this Tuesday evening. Click below for a preview.
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One more quick item…. I have four tickets to the “Ethel Merman Broadway” show at the fabulous GEM Theatre in Detroit for this Saturday afternoon at 2 PM . The GEM is a small and intimate theater that was actually relocated in order to build Ford Field. I would be delighted to provide them to the first person who responds to me (in the comments or via e-mail) with why they would enjoy seeing this presentation of Ethel Merman’s career.
Well, it certainly was an active weekend of college football. Led by our very own Rocket victory on Friday night against the Big 12 opponent the Colorado Buffaloes. It was a tremendous evening with the inaugural “walk to the stadium” of our Rocket players and coaches. The game was extremely exciting with our Rockets running and passing throughout the evening. But I must say my favorite part was the players salute to the student body at the end of the game.
What a nice new tradition that Tim Beckman and his coaches have started. As I have said earlier in Journal entries, Tim Beckman will lead Rocket football into a new era that we will all be proud of and happy to be participants.
Speaking of a new era we are now launching our latest marketing campaign with the theme “MORE”.
If you recall, back when our merger occurred in 2006 one of the constant themes about the positive impact of the merger is that the University of Toledo would now have more opportunities for students, faculty, staff and our entire community. That’s MORE opportunities in the sciences, medicine, law, business, health care and many MORE.
After a great deal of focus group activity, both formal and informal, with many of our audiences, I believe this campaign will differentiate us from many of our peer institutions in the state, the region and country.
Take a look at our theme and our television commercial, listen to one of our radio ads and let me know what you think.
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Your thoughts are important and I look forward to hearing from you. Here’s to MORE victories on the gridiron, MORE students in our classrooms and MORE fun for all of us as we enjoy being part of our University of Toledo.
Summer is officially over and Fall will be arriving shortly. I recently returned from Northern Michigan and have to say that it is truly one of the prettiest parts of our country. The freshwater fish, perch is clearly my favorite, the hundreds of acres of evergreens, and now this area is one of the finest golf retreats anywhere. It’s another great reason to live in Toledo because you’re only a few short hours away from this Great Lake’s Wonderland.
As Summer ends and Fall arrives it’s also time for college football. This time is the highlight of the year for most of my friends as they follow their favorite teams. Although the Rockets fell short last Saturday I am confident that this Friday night’s game will be a victory. Can’t wait to welcome the Rockets and our new coaching staff led by coach Tim Beckman. This Friday night’s game which will be shown nationally on ESPN is a wonderful showcase opportunity for our university, our community and most of all our students.
Speaking of Rocket Football this Friday is another of the newly established “Rocket Friday’s”. All are encouraged to wear your Rocket colors to work as well as the game. I know many of you were wondering how this ties into the “Bow Tie Friday’s” established last year, not to worry… “Bow Tie Friday’s” and “Rocket Friday’s” are connected in a very nice way. I’ll certainly will be sporting my Rocket colors Friday.
I also want to take this opportunity to say how very proud I am to be part of our enrollment team at the University of Toledo. This semester brings another record number of freshmen to our university and another semester of increased enrollment. As Dr. Jacobs reported last Friday enrollment drives many financial factors at our university. Not only are the student numbers important but also the academic preparedness of these entering freshmen continues to be impressive. I want to personally salute Kevin Kucera and his team led by Billy Pierce, Cathi Kwapich, Mark Schroeder and Chris Henderson as they guide the enrollment professionals in developing strategies to attract students from Ohio, Michigan and beyond to our university. We are indeed a university that is growing and moving forward in designing our place on a national scale.
Have a great week and “I’ll see you at the game”. Go Rockets! Regards, Larry.
Welcome back students…and a special welcome to our record number of new Freshmen!
Convocation was very successful…the most energized group of entering students I have seen in my years at UT.
Thanks to several folks for commenting on my last entry-
Candice Hughes- indeed, I have connected with the Girl Scouts and they are interested in working with us regarding a similar program as we are developing with the Boy Scouts, I’ll keep you posted;
Mary Perlinski – thanks for the positive remarks on the video. This was created by the outstanding talent within the Center for Creative Instruction here at UT;
Dr. Pat Hogue – Glad to hear you think the Bow-Tie Friday’s will catch on- I will be delivering yours very soon.
Try to catch the latest edition of Environmentally Sound, tonight at 7:00 p.m. on 760 WJR. We have some outstanding guests from our local community, the University and the “new” General Motors. Listen to the promo for the show below:
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Students model clothing from Michael David Limited
The first annual 2009 UT Blue and Gold Scholar Back 2 School Fashion Show was recently held at Savage Arena in partnership with Juice 107.3. A great new event to reach out to children of all ages about the importance of education. Our very own UT Alum Mr. Greg Braylock spoke and was fabulous!
Also, thanks to people like Amelia Acuna and Tricia Cullop. These two ladies are rising stars at UT.
A special thanks to Michael Brinker from Michael David Limited…the finest men’s clothing store in the area.
Speaking of gentleman’s clothing…Summer is fast coming to an end and I have only a few more weeks for the seersucker, linen and bright colors. I just love Summer;
I was in Chicago this past weekend for a wedding. A great place but it sure is nice to get home…we have so many things going for us here and very little of the congestion like a city of Chicago’s size has;
Can’t wait for convocation on Friday…we will premiering our new video for the incoming students based on the song “Walk on the Moon” by my favorite band “the Great Big Sea”. Trust me…listen to this band while running or driving and you’ll be hooked. There’s a sneak peak of the video below. Turn it up!;
Do you think “Bow-Tie Friday’s” has a chance of catching on this Fall? Watch for the new UT Bow-Tie coming soon;
Have a great week…enjoy the heat! Regards, Larry.
As our University of Toledo leadership continues to meet and discuss a new revised budget I find it interesting to see what our neighbors north are doing. Virtually all state-supported universities in Michigan are increasing their tuition beginning this coming semester. As you well know, Michigan is suffering many of the economic challenges we are experiencing here in Ohio including reduction of state-supported scholarships.
Here is a sample of just a few of the University tuition increases
Central Michigan University 4.6%
Michigan State University 6.5%
Oakland University 9%
University of Michigan 5.6% and Wayne State University 5.4%.
Indeed these are challenging times but I continue to be optimistic and focus on the many positive elements occurring at our University. Our direct from high school enrollment appears to be headed for another record number. Our transfer numbers should be up from last year as well. People are choosing our University over other options and to me that says we continue to be headed in the right direction. Enjoy the week, regards, Larry.
A native of Detroit, Mr. Burns is a 1978 graduate of Central Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science degree. Currently, Mr. Burns serves as Vice President for External Affairs and Interim Vice President for Equity and Diversity for The University of Toledo.
