The University of Tennessee is trying to draw attention to what it's doing.
There has been much talk about the new branding slogan "Big Orange Big Ideas" this past year.
Chancellor Jimmy Cheek said that "Big Orange Big Ideas" is a tagline that represents the overall goal of the university. The purpose of the branding issue is communicating what UT is doing much more than a catchy slogan Cheek said.
One of the issues Cheek recognizes is the lack of national positive exposure that UT receives. He even noted that faculty members don't like to admit they're from UT.
"We have faculty members that go to conferences that don't put the University of Tennessee Knoxville down," he said. "How can you make us a better institution if people don't know where you are from."
Cheek has served on the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the nation's oldest higher education association.
Serving with the UCLA chancellor and other high-ranking educational officers, Cheek's goal is to get the name of UT out as much as possible so that other universities can see what UT is doing.
But it's not just about the national stage. He wants to put fences around the border of Tennessee as well.
"The idea about branding is to get across this state in particular that the University of Tennessee is a major asset for this state," Cheek said. "When I go to Memphis and sit down with business leaders, and one of them said, 'What are you over here for other than to raise money?' I said the major reason I'm over here is I want you to know that I'm just interested in Memphis as I am in Knoxville. Because the University of Tennessee Knoxville is a statewide resource."
Vice Chancellor of Communications Margie Nichols said the whole point of branding is to sell UT.
"This is the way to sell what we do," she said. "We have a whole campaign now that involves every college. We're going to have a billboard at the airport that says 'Big Orange Big Ideas.' This is the way to brand all the great things we are doing. If you put a brand around it, it draws more attention to it rather than just putting it out there."
One of the ways UT has tried to serve the students is to have various committees consisting of students, faculty, staff and alumni to represent as many parties as possible, because it's practically impossible to go out and ask 27,000 people, Nichols said.
Short-term goals include the construction going on around campus, new facilities in buildings like Humanities and Social Sciences and the One Stop Center being built in the library starting this fall.
But long term, they want to be among the top 25 research universities, and they want to be recognized for their accomplishments in areas such as research and superior masters' programs.
"In 10 years, I hope and believe that we will be among the top 25 research universities," Cheek said. "I hope that more and more people understand the high quality institution that we are. I hope that we have students graduating more rapidly, and more students staying around for a master's degree."