Will I still graduate from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio?
Yes. The official, regental name of the university will remain The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. It is still an appropriate way to refer to the organization in addition to UT Health San Antonio. It is discouraged to shorten our regental name to the acronym UTHSCSA (pronounced yew-tesk-uh) as it provides no clarity about who we are and only confuses most people.
What about all the current branded items in our departments and offices? The stationery, business cards, signage, etc.? Should we still use these?
Yes. Branded materials should be replaced over time and as the need arises. To be most efficient, we will exhaust our current supply of materials. For some amount of time, you’ll see items with our old brand and our new brand in circulation. That’s expected. After November 7, everything produced will reflect our new brand and the DBA UT Health San Antonio. The brand conversion may take 9-12 months to complete.
Will the email address of the Health Science Center reflect our new DBA?
Ideally the organization’s email addresses and web domain address (uthscsa.edu) would align to reinforce the new brand. As some of us may have experienced, it’s not an easy address to provide to others or remember. There is currently an evaluation process underway to determine the work necessary and expense required to convert both email addresses and domain address to ultimately determine whether it’s an investment worth making. Because of the level of complexity of this project, if it is determined to move forward, it will likely take 12-18 months to execute. We’re prolific email users… we transmit more than 200 million emails a year!
What is the significance and logic behind the shield in the new logo?
The new logo is created from elements of the Health Science Center’s official seal. Shields have long represented illustrious academic organizations. The shield was retained to emphasize that we are an academic institution. The star in the center of the shield represents our Texas pride, and the iconic shape of the Alamo signifies our connection to San Antonio and our essential role as the leader in the region’s bioscience industry. We also listened to hundreds of opinions about what makes our organization unique and even had multiple hand-drawn suggestions for what our new brand mark could look like! While coming to one decision was difficult, the level of dialogue and discussion around our brand is impressive and reflects a high degree of internal pride.
