School pride is focus of changes on campus

The three-sided signs are eight feet tall and 2½ feet wide. They are installed on the streetlights along Washington Street, which are owned by the city of Amarillo. As a result, the city and Xcel Energy were a part of the process and had to work together to make the effort successful.

“It took a full day and a half to install the signs,” recalled Jena McFall, AC graphic art coordinator.

From different angles, a passerby will see either the phrases “Creating Futures,” “Changing Lives” or an image of AC’s redesigned badger, created by Kevin White, a designer in Kalamazoo, Mich.

“The goal of the signs is to create an awareness of the campus while driving by and to develop a sense of pride among our current students,” Green said. “It also reminds the community of the positive impact we are making.”

AC’s marketing team has started more plans to help improve the school’s image. One initiatives is creating “sticky spaces,” which are study and lounging areas around the campus to encourage students to hang out before and after classes.

A photographer also has been hired to take photographs around campus of classrooms and buildings and candid shots of students. Selected photos will be enlarged and framed for display.

“It feels like the campus is much more hip compared to when I went here,” said Stephanie Carruth, an AC graphic art/Web specialist and a former student. “It appeals to every age group.”

Green said that so far, AC has had positive feedback in its efforts to improve the image of the school.

“AC wants their students to be successful in whatever they are out to achieve, whether it be earning a certificate or transferring to a university,” she said.