I understand the importance of brand recognition. Whenever someone sees your logo, you want them to think positively about what it represents. We want people to have a positive impression of our product or service. Sometimes, that concern can go overboard.

For me, this concern is now turning into an obsession here on Romulus University’s campus. I started noticing it happening over the summer. I overheard arguments in the hallway of my building as the administration considered the moves they were going to make regarding the relocation of academic units. Specifically, there was much back-and-forth about moving the Art department into the building where I reside. I understand that people have differing opinions, and no decision will ever make everybody happy. However, this argument sounded heated. It was not as if I wanted to hear them bickering. They were practically shouting at each other. In the end, the decision to relocate the Art department would commence, but it came with severe caveats and threats. I could tell that nobody was entirely happy with the result, but this was the direction the school was going.

I knew they had no idea that I was in my office, nor would they even be able to tell. My office has no windows and I like to keep it shut so that nobody will disturb me. Additionally, I prefer to have headphones in my ears because I work more effectively with music playing. Even with all of that supposedly blocking out noise, I could still hear them. I can expect such disruptions during the school year, but not during the summer.

Fast forward to our first all-faculty and staff meeting. There was a lot of chatter up front about having the school logo displayed on the screen, as if we had forgotten where we worked. I could tell a few of the higher-ups were getting upset that the logo was not on display. I could understand the desire to have our branding up whenever prospective students are there. We are the employees. We should be your stable base. We should know who we are. Sometimes I like to imagine that I am teaching at an Ivy League school, but I am not delusional.

The kicker came later in the week when I was walking with a colleague and they noticed that the school logo was askew in a renovated foyer of a classroom building. The difference is very subtle, but a trained eye can notice it immediately, as my friend did. The sign is in no way small. It measures at least six feet wide and is highly visible. These are some of the larger examples I have encountered over the last few weeks, and there are many more that I will not mention.

There is such an emphasis on aesthetics around here that the proper focus is getting lost. Everybody seems so wrapped up in the looks of things that they overlook the obvious flaws. I am not saying that looks do not matter. They do have their place. However, when people lavish so much attention on their appearance, they only partly conceal the ugliness beneath. The same is true of any academic institution.