IT Council - George Mason University

Meeting Notes
5/6/03

1. Helen Ackerman, VP for University Relations gave the WAG an overview of the University's branding project.

a. A brand is visual expression of the image of the institution

i. Logo
ii. Word mark/signature
iii. Colors

b. Currently the University has the George Mason word mark, the George Mason seal, the star and flag logo used for athletics, and the green and gold colors, for example. All these are part of the image of George Mason.

c. Why do we need to think about branding?

i. To increase recognition
ii. To increase impact by establishing a recognizable pattern
iii. To use resources more cost-effectively, get more leverage from the resources we have
iv. To build and reinforce a unified image
v. To create an umbrella for various units efforts

d. Background: The University's current visual identity was developed in 1982. A lot has changed at the University since then. Working with an outside company, the president created a vision statement and established a marketing committee for the University that includes University Life, University Relations, Admissions, Alumni, Development, Athletics, and the Center for the Arts. The visual identity/branding project is part of the overall marketing plan for the University. We want an identity that both reflects who we are now and one that will carry us into the future.

e. Process: Through an RFP, the University hired a design company-Graphique-to develop the visual identity. (This company also designed the materials for the Capital Campaign.) They are currently conducting a communications audit, researching our competitors, and interviewing campus leadership. Then they will create several designs and get feedback from the campus community. When the list has been narrowed to three, the president will make the choice. We should have some drafts in the fall. A decision is not expected before next spring.

f. Use: In general, the expectation is that the brand would be something that would be fit into the identification efforts of the various schools, colleges, departments, at the University. A toolbox would be developed to help users incorporate the visual identity features, such as templates. There would also be a long lead time for a transition so that as web pages are redone, they would incorporate the new brand. The design company would provide a manual for using the brand.

2. The University Web Team gave an overview of the current architecture of the University's web site.

a. There are dozens, possibly hundreds, of servers supporting various parts of the University web site, only a few of which are managed by the ITU. While all colleges, departments, institutes, offices, etc, may have space on the University servers for their web sites, many choose to host their web sites on their own servers or on commercial servers. (See Lara's diagram.) Lara noted that the search engine currently indexes about 200,000 pages for the University.

b. Bob Nakles gave an overview of the various procedures the web team has developed to cover such items as highlight buttons, style guidelines, updating web pages, web hosting capabilities, virtual hosts, and server supported applications. All of these are on the University's web development site at http://www.gmu.edu/mlnavbar/webdev/.

c. The team also gave a brief tour of the web development site showing what other information is available there.

3. Dee reviewed the proposed process to deal with responding to the state standards and guidelines for web pages.

a. A subcommittee consisting of Andres Fortino (chair), Mel Nichols, Mike Behrmann, Lara Bushallow, Paras Kaul and Mike Wood was established to work on this charge.

b. The subcommittee will review the proposed state standards and make a recommendation.

c. The WAG would review the proposal in June.

4. Next steps

a. At the May 28 meeting

i. Discuss the Banner project's database architecture
ii. Hear from Bill Lantry about several possible technologies being considered for a consortial catalog project for the Washington-area Consortium of Universities
iii. Hear an update from the Standards subcommittee

b. At June meetings

i. View examples of other database-driven web projects in the University such as the CAS catalog project
ii. Set up teams to begin work on defining the functionality requirements of the web architecture
iii. Set up a communication team to plan our strategy for giving and receiving information about this project to/from the University community

c. Investigate setting up a threaded discussion group in WebCT for the Tech Council team

Notes taken by Anne Agee

Attending:
Helen Ackerman (guest)

Dee Holisky (Chair)
Anne Agee (Associate Chair)
Farrokh Alemi
Mike Behrmann
Lara Bushallow
Ann Clare
John Creuziger
Andrew Flagel
Jim Finkelstein
Cathy Hubbs
Creston Jamison
Paras Kaul
Deborah Keene
Ruth Kifer
Bob Nakles
Stephen Nash
Mel Nichols
Roy Rosenzweig
Mike Wood
MeiHua Zhai

Absent:
Andres Fortino
Scott Martin
Stan Zoltek

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Home Members Projects Meeting Notes Information Technology Unit	Meeting Notes 5/6/03 1. Helen Ackerman, VP for University Relations gave the WAG an overview of the University's branding project. a. A brand is visual expression of the image of the institution i. Logo ii. Word mark/signature iii. Colors b. Currently the University has the George Mason word mark, the George Mason seal, the star and flag logo used for athletics, and the green and gold colors, for example. All these are part of the image of George Mason. c. Why do we need to think about branding? i. To increase recognition ii. To increase impact by establishing a recognizable pattern iii. To use resources more cost-effectively, get more leverage from the resources we have iv. To build and reinforce a unified image v. To create an umbrella for various units efforts d. Background: The University's current visual identity was developed in 1982. A lot has changed at the University since then. Working with an outside company, the president created a vision statement and established a marketing committee for the University that includes University Life, University Relations, Admissions, Alumni, Development, Athletics, and the Center for the Arts. The visual identity/branding project is part of the overall marketing plan for the University. We want an identity that both reflects who we are now and one that will carry us into the future. e. Process: Through an RFP, the University hired a design company-Graphique-to develop the visual identity. (This company also designed the materials for the Capital Campaign.) They are currently conducting a communications audit, researching our competitors, and interviewing campus leadership. Then they will create several designs and get feedback from the campus community. When the list has been narrowed to three, the president will make the choice. We should have some drafts in the fall. A decision is not expected before next spring. f. Use: In general, the expectation is that the brand would be something that would be fit into the identification efforts of the various schools, colleges, departments, at the University. A toolbox would be developed to help users incorporate the visual identity features, such as templates. There would also be a long lead time for a transition so that as web pages are redone, they would incorporate the new brand. The design company would provide a manual for using the brand. 2. The University Web Team gave an overview of the current architecture of the University's web site. a. There are dozens, possibly hundreds, of servers supporting various parts of the University web site, only a few of which are managed by the ITU. While all colleges, departments, institutes, offices, etc, may have space on the University servers for their web sites, many choose to host their web sites on their own servers or on commercial servers. (See Lara's diagram.) Lara noted that the search engine currently indexes about 200,000 pages for the University. b. Bob Nakles gave an overview of the various procedures the web team has developed to cover such items as highlight buttons, style guidelines, updating web pages, web hosting capabilities, virtual hosts, and server supported applications. All of these are on the University's web development site at http://www.gmu.edu/mlnavbar/webdev/. c. The team also gave a brief tour of the web development site showing what other information is available there. 3. Dee reviewed the proposed process to deal with responding to the state standards and guidelines for web pages. a. A subcommittee consisting of Andres Fortino (chair), Mel Nichols, Mike Behrmann, Lara Bushallow, Paras Kaul and Mike Wood was established to work on this charge. b. The subcommittee will review the proposed state standards and make a recommendation. c. The WAG would review the proposal in June. 4. Next steps a. At the May 28 meeting i. Discuss the Banner project's database architecture ii. Hear from Bill Lantry about several possible technologies being considered for a consortial catalog project for the Washington-area Consortium of Universities iii. Hear an update from the Standards subcommittee b. At June meetings i. View examples of other database-driven web projects in the University such as the CAS catalog project ii. Set up teams to begin work on defining the functionality requirements of the web architecture iii. Set up a communication team to plan our strategy for giving and receiving information about this project to/from the University community c. Investigate setting up a threaded discussion group in WebCT for the Tech Council team Notes taken by Anne Agee Attending: Helen Ackerman (guest) Dee Holisky (Chair) Anne Agee (Associate Chair) Farrokh Alemi Mike Behrmann Lara Bushallow Ann Clare John Creuziger Andrew Flagel Jim Finkelstein Cathy Hubbs Creston Jamison Paras Kaul Deborah Keene Ruth Kifer Bob Nakles Stephen Nash Mel Nichols Roy Rosenzweig Mike Wood MeiHua Zhai Absent: Andres Fortino Scott Martin Stan Zoltek -top-
Contact: Anne Agee \| Updated June 7, 2004