Trinity College tones down rebranding plan after staff backlash

A revised logo and corporate identity for Trinity College Dublin was presented to the university's board yesterday following vocal criticism of the initiative from some of the academic staff.

The college is to push ahead with its plan for a new blue and white logo that is more easily reproduced in digital form. However, the design has been tweaked so that it more faithfully reflects the elements of the university shield.

This follows a commitment by TCD provost Patrick Prendergast to respond to staff concerns, including a claim that the heraldic symbols had been rendered "toylike" by the initial design.

The board is also considering reinstating TCD in its name for corporate communications so that its official title reads: "Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin."

College confusion
Dr Prendergast had initially argued for the dropping of the first "Dublin" to avoid repetition. He emphasised the need to reclaim "University of Dublin" as an identifier internationally, given that the term "college" can be interpreted in parts of Asia as an undergraduate institution.

This argument has received tacit support from one of the world's leading ranking agencies, Times Higher Education, which points out that similar institutions such as University College London have tried to play down "college" in their title to avoid confusion in the global market.

"I do have some sympathy for Trinity College Dublin," said Phil Baty, the agency's rankings editor. "There is a legitimate concern that potential overseas student don't quite get it because of the name college."

Heritage versus innovation
He said history was still a selling point for universities but "there is a risk that heritage can potentially prevent universities from innovating, and can create structures that make it harder to adapt to the current environment. Your reputation can sustain you for a length of time but it's not something you can ride on for a long time".

He was commenting as Times Higher Education published its latest top 100 list of institutes aged under 50. In a sign of brand consciousness perhaps, only four of the institutes didn't feature "university" in their title, one of them being Dublin Institute of Technology.

In a statement, TCD said “it would be inappropriate to comment on board business but that, on the wider identity project, there would be further consultation with the college community.

“This is in line with the best traditions of Trinity, which has always valued debate and discussion.”