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From Bad to Verse

88 College Taglines, Arranged as a Poem

By Steve Kolowich August 4, 2015

Colleges are built on words. Millions upon millions of words in books, lectures, essays, reports, applications, and assessments.

But when it comes to selling a college’s image, officials have room only for words that will fit on a brochure, or a billboard, or a banner. The result is a genre of marketing rhetoric that is lofty, predictable, and numbing at a certain dosage.

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Colleges are built on words. Millions upon millions of words in books, lectures, essays, reports, applications, and assessments.

But when it comes to selling a college’s image, officials have room only for words that will fit on a brochure, or a billboard, or a banner. The result is a genre of marketing rhetoric that is lofty, predictable, and numbing at a certain dosage.

Ten months ago, we took 88 unusual college-owned trademarks and made them into a poem. Now we’ve done the same with 88 college taglines — those phrases that attempt to sum up an entire institution in a few well-chosen words. Click on each one to learn its source.

Change Your Life. Start Here.
Institution: Charter College

State: Alaska

Life’s Calling
Institution: Des Moines Area Community College

State: Iowa

It’s Your Life
Institution: Columbus State University

State: Georgia

Your Extraordinary Life
Institution: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

State: Ohio

The Life of the Mind
Institution: University of Chicago

State: Illinois

Change Your Mind. Change Your Life.
Institution: Tillamook Bay Community College

State: Oregon

Minds. Motivated.
Institution: Cypress College

State: California

Inspiring Minds
Institution: Dalhousie University

State: Nova Scotia, Canada

Inspiring Innovation
Institution: University of Wisconsin-Stout

State: Wisconsin

Innovation Is Our Tradition
Institution: Babson College

State: Massachusetts

Innovation. Education.
Institution: Trident Technical College

State: South Carolina

Education for Service
Institution: Langston University

State: Oklahoma

Education for Individual and Social Responsibility
Institution: Olivet College

State: Michigan

Education for a World Stage
Institution: Macalester College

State: Minnesota

Education for an Inspired Life
Institution: Fairfield University

State: Connecticut

Education Redefined
Institution: Ball State University

State: Indiana

Education on Your Terms
Institution: Ashworth College

State: Georgia

Your Education. Your Way.
Institution: Holmes Community College

State: Mississippi

Personal Education. Lifetime Success.
Institution: Bryant & Stratton College

State: New York

Personal Education, Extraordinary Success
Institution: Centre College

State: Kentucky

Where Success Begins
Institution: Lansing Community College

State: Michigan

Where Success Is a Tradition
Institution: State University of New York at Fredonia

State: New York

Your Success. Our Tradition.
Institution: University of Jamestown

State: North Dakota

Experience Tradition. Expect Success.
Institution: Duquesne University

State: Pennsylvania

Real Tradition, Real Success
Institution: Ellsworth Community College

State: Iowa

Real Education. Above All.
Institution: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

State: Arizona

Real Education. Real Results.
Institution: Dakota County Technical College

State: Minnesota

Real Life. Real Knowledge. Real People.
Institution: Moberly Area Community College

State: Missouri

Real People Start Here
Institution: Kankakee Community College

State: Illinois

A Great Place to Start
Institution: Angelina College

State: Texas

It All Begins Here
Institution: Brookhaven College

State: Texas

Higher Education Begins Here
Institution: Gateway Community and Technical College

State: Kentucky

Your Career Path Begins Here
Institution: Metropolitan Community College

State: Missouri

Great Stories Begin Here
Institution: Adams State University

State: Colorado

Start Here. Go Anywhere.
Institution: Berkshire Community College

State: Massachusetts

Going Anywhere Starts Here!
Institution: Cloud County Community College

State: Kansas

Go Farther Than You Ever Dreamed!
Institution: Central College

State: Iowa

From Here, It’s Possible
Institution: Texas Tech University

State: Texas

Possible Is Everything
Institution: Lawrence Technological University

State: Michigan

Realize What’s Possible
Institution: Potomac State College at West Virginia University

State: West Virginia

Redefine the Possible
Institution: California State University at Sacramento

State: California

New Beginnings. Endless Possibilities.
Institution: Missouri State University at West Plains

State: Missouri

Believe in the Possibilities
Institution: Gannon University

State: Pennsylvania

Seek Your Dream
Institution: Wayland Baptist University

State: Texas

Be Your Dream
Institution: Mt. Hood Community College

State: Oregon

Dream Big
Institution: Lincoln University

State: Missouri

Big Dreams Come True Here
Institution: Chatfield College

State: Ohio

Dream Bigger. Do Greater.
Institution: Mid-American Christian University

State: Oklahoma

Do Something Great
Institution: Ohio State University

State: Ohio

Imagine What You Can Do
Institution: Baton Rouge Community College

State: Louisiana

You Can Do That Here
Institution: Alderson-Broaddus College

State: West Virginia

Think. Do.
Institution: Columbus College of Art and Design

State: Ohio

Think Big. We Do.
Institution: University of Rhode Island

State: Rhode Island

Dreamers. Thinkers. Doers.
Institution: University of Memphis

State: Tennessee

Learn by Doing
Institution: California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo

State: California

Learn. Do. Live.
Institution: Central Washington University

State: Washington

Let’s Do This
Institution: Hennepin Technical College

State: Minnesota

Are You In?
Institution: Colorado Technical University

State: Colorado

What Will You Do?
Institution: Polytechnic Institute of New York University

State: New York

Who Will You Be?
Institution: University of Findlay

State: Ohio

It’s All About You
Institution: Waldorf College

State: Iowa

Your Dreams. Our Mission.
Institution: MassBay Community College

State: Massachusetts

One Purpose. One Mission. One Dream.
Institution: Ross University School of Medicine

Location: Dominica

Start With a Dream, Finish With a Future
Institution: Central Connecticut State University

State: Connecticut

Imagine Your Future
Institution: Franklin University

State: Ohio

Walk Into Your Future
Institution: William Woods University

State: Missouri

Your Future Starts Here
Institution: College of Southern Nevada

State: Nevada

Your Future Is Our Future
Institution: Louisiana State University at Alexandria

State: Louisiana

Your Future. Our Mission.
Institution: Missouri University of Science and Technology

State: Missouri

Your Future, Our Focus
Institution: Northwest College

State: Wyoming

The Focus Is You
Institution: Southwestern Oklahoma State University

State: Oklahoma

You First
Institution: Columbia College

State: South Carolina

The Education You Want. The Attention You Deserve.
Institution: Capital University

State: Ohio

The Perfect Fit for You
Institution: North Iowa Area Community College

State: Iowa

As Distinctive as You
Institution: Perdue School of Business, Salisbury University

State: Maryland

Like No Place Else on Earth
Institution: University of Hawaii System

State: Hawaii

Exceptional Education. Exceptional Value.
Institution: Muskingum University

State: Ohio

Become Exceptional
Institution: Bellevue College

State: Washington

Set Yourself Apart
Institution: Colorado Northwestern Community College

State: Colorado

Invent Yourself
Institution: Beloit College

State: Wisconsin

Declare Yourself
Institution: Buffalo State College

State: New York

Transform Yourself. Transform the World.
Institution: Naropa University

State: Colorado

It’s Your World
Institution: Lake Area Technical Institute

State: South Dakota

Your Place. Your Purpose.
Institution: Belhaven University

State: Mississippi

Your Life. Your College. Your Way.
Institution: Community College of Vermont

State: Vermont

Why Go Anywhere Else?
Institution: Iowa Lakes Community College

State: Iowa

When You Get Here You Understand
Institution: Red Deer College

State: Alberta, Canada

You’re One of a Kind. So Are We.
Institution: University of Rio Grande

State: Ohio

Source: Stamats (some taglines might be out of date)

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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About the Author
Steve Kolowich
Steve Kolowich was a senior reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education. He wrote about extraordinary people in ordinary times, and ordinary people in extraordinary times.
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