Richmond Spiders are a unique and accomplished group. Our ambition encourages us to push further in scholarship. Our curiosity motivates us to explore the uncharted. Our determination drives us to tireless pursuit of our goals.
We possess these qualities before we set foot on campus — that’s what draws us here in the first place. And once we arrive, we find an experience that elevates these attributes and equips us to affect positive and lasting change.
This place strengthens who we are, and in turn, our talents strengthen the University. Therein lies the heart of our story: It starts within us.
This brand magnifies and celebrates the many incredible traits that Spiders possess. It conveys to audiences that, through the academic experience and resources offered by the University, we develop and enhance the very strengths that drew us here.
Learn about our platform and see how it can tell Spiders’ remarkable stories in so many different ways.
Intellectual Ambition
Our positioning defines where we stand in the marketplace: our distinct location among our peers that sets us apart. The positioning is supported by three brand pillars, which outline who we are, what we provide, and where and how we provide it.
Who we are:
Determined Achievers
At the University of Richmond, ambition and determination are celebrated and shared as essential qualities for achieving success. We pursue our goals actively and tirelessly, because we are resolute in our belief that we have the knowledge, abilities, and resolve to attain them.
What we provide:
A Heightened Education
At the University of Richmond, we concentrate not only on the classroom but on every endeavor that enriches and expands the educational experience. We support internships, sponsored student research, study abroad, cross-disciplinary opportunities, professional schools, Division I athletics, organizations, clubs, and more, so that students can maximize their education, apply their knowledge, and put theory into practice.
Where and how we provide it:
An Intellectual Meeting Place
At the University of Richmond, we gather to learn, explore, and enjoy life as a vibrant and intellectually engaged community. Our magnificent campus stimulates an intense focus on our education, our potential, and our goals. Deep relationships and lifelong friendships are formed, binding us to this awe-inspiring place for life.
The tone in which we communicate:
Confident, Intellectual, Ambitious
Just like a person, our institution has a set of personality traits that come through in the way we say things. Use these as a filter for your content—as you’re writing, ask yourself: “Does this sound like it’s true to at least one of our personality words?”
The creative platform that brings our stories to life:
Our brand expression encompasses what we say and how we say it, painting a compelling picture for our audience through words and visuals. At its foundation is a creative platform that captures the essence of our institution through an overarching narrative. Use the platform as inspiration, a jumping-off point, and a gut-check. Ask yourself: “Does my writing sound like this? Does what I’ve communicated align with this platform?”
There is something deep within us:
A distinct confidence.
Clear determination.
Unmistakable curiosity.
These qualities make us Spiders — long before we set foot on campus. And once we’re here, the University of Richmond takes what’s already within us, and fuels it. Refines it. Advances it.
This place helps make us who we are.
And we help make this place what it is.
Intrinsically interwoven, so that long after we graduate, we collectively continue to improve, to succeed, to evolve — ourselves, and communities near and far.
It all starts within us.
It means that:
People are drawn here because they already possess certain traits that make them Spiders, long before they even set foot on campus.
What’s within us enables us to do great things out in the world.
We’re multi-dimensional: While some people here might possess just one of these traits, most possess lots of them, combined in different ways as part of a diverse student body.
We’re determined achievers who go after our goals with everything we have.
It doesn’t mean that:
They arrive here fully formed. Richmond takes who they are with thoughtful, strategic education, amplifies the traits that will help them become the very best version of themselves.
We’re self-absorbed. Far from being focused on ourselves, we’re more interested in how our inner qualities can lead to incredible outcomes.
We’re cookie-cutter. There’s not a specific “type” of person who belongs here. People of all stripes embody the traits of a Spider in their own unique ways.
We ignore the other two pillars of our positioning. They’re essential to our brand, and the “within us” platform can be used to describe institutional traits that help us elaborate on what we provide and where and how we provide it (we’ll show you how through this website).