Profiles of a great university: Throwing a different light on a big subject.

     In the midst of a campaign to remind Tennessee residents of UT's presence in the life of the state, another need developed for a rich overview of the school-particularly to orient visitors from other colleges and other countries.

     Communication leaders (including my friend Katherine Key) wanted, at the very least, to balance UT's image as an NCAA powerhouse with other aspects of campus life, each holding out its own inherent drama and values.

     The strategy became one of shuffling ten profiles into a single sketch book, lavishly illustrated and illuminated with historical timeline and a clutch of effervescent sidebars on subjects like dance marathons and cosmochemistry. We also included a "Harper's Index" fact page and, in the end, brief descriptions of the nine colleges within the University. But the central theater of the piece rests in the ten profiles chosen, from Marco Institute medieval studies to campus internationalism to the court-side philosophies of coach Pat Summitt.

     Published in the spring of 2007, the brochure set off a storm of interest beyond its original purpose:

     Writes Nancy McGlasson, director of undergraduate admissions: "Congratulations . . . for this magnificent piece! I would love to have lots of them for special . . . groups and let me know if we should work up a list of these sorts of things. Truly, this is the prettiest piece like this I have EVER SEEN and I see a lot of them. Get this. I cannot decide which spread is my favorite two pages."

View PDF Original:
UT Brochure

Strategy and text: Jay Fields
(with writing collaboration from daughter Alison)
Design: Robin Easter and Associates