Over 1,500 Sign Smith's Tag Line Banner

Robert H. Smith '50 signs the "Leaders for the Digital Economy" banner.

Robert H. Smith '50 signed it in green directly below a logo that bears his name. University of Maryland President C. D. Mote Jr. signed it simply Dan Mote. Dean Howard Frank was the first to sign it; Justin Silbert, senior decision and information sciences major, was the last. Some, like John Hoss Cartwright, made it a work of careful deliberation. Others offered a bold, undecipherable, highly stylized scrawl.

Some offered predictions (Accounting Forever!"). Others signed for their whole family ("The Flowers Family"). Many signed in their native language, like Chinese or Punjabi.

Regardless of how, where, or even what color they used, over 1,500 students, faculty, staff, and friends of the Smith School stepped forward to sign on to the new Leaders for the Digital Economy tag line. To kick off the new tag line campaign, the Office of Communications created a huge banner with the slogan on it and asked the Smith community to sign it.

I was mobbed by about 30 students wanting to sign the banner at once, said Pamela Yee, assistant marketing communications manager. The students were thrilled to be a part of the banner signing. It was really fun."

Yee said that many students brought their friends back the next day to show off their signatures and get their friends to sign as well. Many were fascinated by the concept of suspending the banner from high in the atrium's 60-foot rafters. Sweet! they said. Can I be here when you hang it?

Earlier this week, all members of the Smith community were invited to sign the banner and enter a raffle to win high-tech prizes.

The banner was unfurled on May 8 during a reception following the 2003 Smith MBA Case Competition. The banner will be permanently installed on May 13. In addition to the 6 x 25 banner, the Smith Schools marketing communications materials will carry the new tag line.

We wanted to find a symbolic way to get everyone on board, said Anne Moultrie, assistant dean, communications. Theres no better way to do that than to have members of the Smith community sign up. A signature is the accepted sign of personal commitment and support.

A Smith School committee, appointed by Dean Howard Frank, recommended the new tag line based on extensive testing and the fact that it captures the schools strategic direction well. As the dean wrote in the schools vision statement: At the Smith School, we are charting a course to advance business thinking and education for the netcentric era.

The schools vision is to become a model for business education and knowledge advancement for the 21st century.

Our new branding tag line is a strong and appropriate way to communicate that the Smith School is a community of leaders in an economy that has been dramatically transformed by information technology, adds Moultrie. For example, the Smith faculty is advancing the business knowledge and practice of the networked economy. In addition, students at Smith gain knowledge and skills in functional business areas and an understanding of how to leverage technology in their respective fields.

Raffle-prize Winners
Grand Prize: Scott Nathan (Palm Zire Personal Digital Assistant)
Second Prize: Mina Choi (iBot2 Web Cam with 2.0 PCI Card)
Third Prize: Michelle Gordon (Apex DVD/MP3/CD Player)
Fourth Prize: Vinayak Saxena (Case Logic Computer Briefcase)
Fifth Prize: Nisa Mehta (Memorex Recordable CDs)