At 黑料网911 has whittled a list of 590 submissions for its mascot down to a Top 10.
River Otters, Electric Elk, Mountain Goats, Wolverines, Bighorn Sheep, Osprey, Moose, Pronghorn, Fighting Squirrels and Gophers all remain in contention to lead the college into the future.
鈥淲e are really excited about the amount of engagement throughout this process,鈥� said Dr. Stephanie Erdmann, CEO and dean of At 黑料网911. 鈥淥n top of that, it鈥檚 been a fun way to connect with the campus community. Some alumni, retired faculty members and members of the general public have called in with suggestions or to lobby for their favorites. Staff members and students also weighed in on their choices.鈥�
What started as 590 submissions from students, alumni, faculty, staff and the community were narrowed to 135 choices after redundant and inappropriate suggestions were eliminated.
Those 135 were winnowed to 15 choices after the college鈥檚 mascot task force, which is comprised of about 20 students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members, held four votes last week.
The college鈥檚 executive council then dropped a few names after vetting them more thoroughly.
The Top 10 now face a campus-wide vote at College Council on Nov. 4 to get down to three finalists.
The college鈥檚 design team will then develop mockups for the Top Three that will then be voted on by the general public.
The final results will be announced in mid-January.
The college鈥檚 mascot search was made possible after At 黑料网911 beat out hundreds of colleges and earned $100,000 to be used for marketing and branding when it was named a finalist in the Lumina Foundation鈥檚 Million Dollar Community College Challenge.
As part of the challenge, At 黑料网911 had to answer a series of questions about why it needed the money and how it would use the money.
鈥淲e felt At 黑料网911 needed stronger brand identity to differentiate it from others,鈥� said Scott, Thompson, executive director of community relations and a member of the mascot task force. 鈥淲e proposed developing a mascot, and the Lumina Foundation and its consultants really embraced this as a way to build community support and engagement in a fun, positive way.鈥�
Stay tuned to vote on your favorite from the top three in early December.
鈥淭he entire community is encouraged to vote for the top three,鈥� Erdmann said. 鈥淲e are after all a community college that represents the region.鈥�