The University of Evansville’s boundaries have a fresh look.
White street name signs sporting a purple-and-orange “UE” emblem were installed July 11 at Lincoln Avenue’s intersection with Weinbach Avenue and where Frederick Street meets Lincoln, as well as where Weinbach and Walnut Street cross. The emblem puts a stamp of school pride on the streets surrounding campus.
“We are in the heart of the city of Evansville, and we wanted to bolster our visibility. When you see one of those signs, you know you’re on our campus,” says UE Chief Communications Officer Noah Alatza.
Modifying city-owned infrastructure wasn’t a quick process. After its resolution to spruce up the traditional green street name signs received unanimous approval from the Evansville City Council in June 2024, UE worked with the city’s Boards of Public Works and Public Safety to make sure the new signs complied with state and federal regulations. The Indiana Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices follows the federal MUTCD’s Rule 2D.43, which limits street name sign backgrounds to blue, green, or brown. That threw off UE’s plan, which originally called for a hue paying homage to the school’s Purple Aces.
The MUTCD also restricts emblems to institutional seals, and the letters “UE” were not an official university seal. Guided by legal counsel from attorneys Mike Schopmeyer and Joshua “J.R.” Trockman at Kahn, Dees, Donovan & Kahn, LLP, UE’s Board of Trustees approved the letters “UE” as a secondary seal, which met Public Works requirements. Once given the green light, Hummel Electric fabricated and installed the new signs.
“We have a lot of infrastructure upgrades we’ve invested in in the last few years, like Lincoln Commons, the Mental Health and Wellness Clinic & Emily M. Young Assessment Center, and a generous gift from UE alums Kyle and Ashley Freeland for the addition of the Freeland Clubhouse. This is the cherry on top of those upgrades,” Alatza says. “We want to be good stewards of the area around the institution and to the community that gave us a university.”
We like sharing Things We Learned while producing our magazines! While reporting this story, we learned the specific shade of purple used in UE’s logo is Pantone 2617.
