social\u00a0media comments<\/a>. Critics called the sunburst generic or corporate.<\/p>\nFormer Mayor Ron Nirenberg, a 1999 Trinity graduate who teaches at the university, offered a more measured assessment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tower is iconic, and I do miss it,\u201d Nirenberg said. \u201cWhen logo changes happen, it takes a little time for it to settle in, and immediate responses are not always the permanent ones.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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But the tower logo was not universally loved before Trinity replaced it.<\/p>\n
Trinity launched the\u00a0tower logo in 2003 after Sharon Jones Schweitzer, a 1975 Trinity graduate who was then assistant vice president of external relations, led a rebranding effort. Faculty and staff involved in that effort also helped vet the new logo and support it, Colmenares said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
April Ancira, vice president of Ancira Auto Group and a 2002 Trinity graduate who has served as a university trustee since 2019, said she encountered little support for retaining the tower among alumni, trustees and university employees involved in the recent\u00a0redesign.<\/p>\n
She said alumni had repeatedly joked about the shape of the tower logo.<\/p>\n
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\u201cSome of the humor behind the tower was that it looked kind of\u00a0\u2014 I don\u2019t know a better word\u00a0\u2014 but phallic,\u201d Ancira said.<\/p>\n
Celebrated San Antonio writer and poet Naomi Shihab\u00a0Nye, a former Young People\u2019s Poet Laureate,\u00a0said the new sunburst logo is more memorable than the tower logo it replaced.<\/p>\n
Nye still visits Trinity, volunteers on campus and speaks to classes. Yet when initially asked to describe the university\u2019s existing symbol, she could not recall it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bell tower is a little bit forgettable, I guess,\u201d she said. \u201cAs much as I love it, I think the sun they\u2019re going to use is more memorable.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The 1974 Trinity graduate independently\u00a0recalled that the tower had been the subject of crude jokes during her student years, decades before it became Trinity\u2019s primary logo.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were some profane jokes that were often repeated by people, including some professors, regarding the tower,\u201d Nye said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What do you think of Trinity University’s rebrand?<\/p>\n
Why Trinity chose the sun<\/p>\n
University officials said the sunburst is not a rejection of Trinity\u2019s history but a return to its early roots. Trinity was founded in 1869 in Tehuacana, Texas. A sun representing knowledge and enlightenment appeared in its official seal the following year, and variations marked university publications, yearbooks and marketing materials for decades.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re really returning to the image that carried us from the start,\u201d Anh-Viet Dinh, Trinity\u2019s director for creative strategy, said in the university\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n
The new icon consists of 24 triangular rays intended to reflect Trinity\u2019s midcentury modern campus, designed by architect O\u2019Neil Ford. University officials say the triangles echo architectural patterns found across campus, while a smaller sun formed by negative space represents \u201cthe warmth of a college and the strengths of a university.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colmenares said Murchison Tower remains meaningful to alumni and San Antonio residents, but bell and clock towers are common among university logos.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bell tower doesn\u2019t stand out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Inside the selection process<\/p>\n
Ancira said trustees and other\u00a0participants in the logo redesign\u00a0were shown several versions of the\u00a0proposed new logo\u00a0and could recommend changes or reject the concepts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could have said, \u2018You know what, go back to the drawing board,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ancira said the design resonated with participants after they learned how frequently the sun had appeared throughout Trinity\u2019s history, including on the seal printed on her diploma.\u00a0She acknowledged that participating in the process probably influenced her response.<\/p>\n
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Schweitzer also participated in the latest process as a \u201cbrand ambassador.\u201d She called the sunburst \u201cstriking\u201d and said it creates a \u201cstronger sense of place that\u2019s broader than just campus.\u201d<\/p>\n
E&A Collaborative is the firm that created the logo and other visual elements, officials said, but\u00a0Trinity has not publicly identified the individual who designed the sunburst.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Competing nationally<\/p>\n
Pelaez pointed to what he considered an irony: Evelyn previously led a brand refresh at Furman University that retained the school\u2019s bell tower logo.<\/p>\n
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Evelyn joined Trinity in March 2025 after more than eight years as Furman\u2019s vice president for university communications. Colmenares, who worked with him there, said Furman\u2019s tower logo predated Evelyn and remained in place during the refresh.<\/p>\n
Trinity needs a more distinctive identity as it increasingly recruits students beyond Texas and competes with universities across the country,\u00a0Colmenares said.<\/p>\n
Trinity received more than 11,000 applications this year and admitted about 28% of applicants, he said. Its acceptance rate was closer to 50% a decade ago.<\/p>\n
After decades in U.S. News & World Report\u2019s regional rankings, Trinity moved into the publication\u2019s national liberal arts category in 2023 at No. 55. It now ranks No. 37<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\nArticle continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Nye said the sunburst fits Trinity\u2019s history, its hilltop campus and its longtime association with the phrase \u201cuniversity in the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later Friday, Nye emailed Colmenares and asked him to share her gratitude with the university president.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrinity has always been a shining, sunny memory for me,\u201d Nye wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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