TOWN OF MOHAWK — Like a “Where’s Waldo?” picture, SUNY Fulton-Montgomery’s old logo has become increasingly inconspicuous on campus.
Recently, the community college’s front entrance signs were swapped out by A.J. Signs in the midst of a sweeping 16-year brand overhaul.
“You're going to see some old and some new,” said FMCC spokesperson Daniel Fogarty. “By the time kids are walking across the stage at graduation on the 17th [of May], there won't be anything in sight. That's for sure.”
Crews over the last month have taken down wide swaths of the community college’s green and blue signage (there’s still some outdated smoke-free campus signs left, as well as an FM logo plate on the clocktower).
The new look, a design from Cohoes-based Spiral Design Studio, shows a blue clock tower with block letters reading SUNY Fulton-Montgomery or SUNY FMCC — the so-called short-name attached to the school.
This is the first time that the school has changed its marketing-use moniker since its inception in Johnstown 61 years ago. FMCC received approval from SUNY to change the brand in spring of 2023.
The overall project dates back to 2021, when FMCC instituted a brand redevelopment committee. Surveying classrooms throughout the school, the committee found that more than 90% of enrolled respondents approved of the name change.
Within the last two decades, a number of community colleges across New York have dropped “community college” from their traditional marketing name, including SUNY Adirondack (2010) and SUNY Schenectady (2018).
Hudson Valley Community College briefly discussed such a change last decade, but ultimately decided against it, concluding that it wasn’t worth the expense or promotional efforts, according to HVCC spokesperson Dennis Kennedy.
FMCC President Gregory Truckenmiller has previously noted that he believes that the new brand more closely aligns with opportunities and collaboration efforts within the broader 64-campus public university system.
The new signage was on display outside recently when FMCC signed a dual admission agreement with the University at Albany for the fall.
“The whole external [branding] was supposed to be about a month and then the internal was roughly supposed to be the same,” Fogarty said. “It’s not that they’re here every day, but just taking things down and putting things up.”
The gymnasium will still be branded with the old logo around the time of graduation, albeit will be covered up for the ceremony, according to Fogarty.