Centers and Institutes

Centers and institutes are established within the university because the services they provide help advance the university’s tripartite mission. The university has a vital interest in and recognizes the value of each center and institute.   

To protect the university’s interests, the following principles shall apply to the university’s relationships with centers and institutes: 

  1. The creation and activities of centers and institutes must promote, advance, or complement the educational, scientific, research, charitable, or cultural activities of the university or one or more of its units. 

  2. Centers and institutes will be monitored by the university through a regular reporting process to include financials. 

  3. Centers and institutes must adhere to university standards of ethics and must avoid or properly address conflicts of interest. 

  4. The university’s relationship with a center or institute is not necessarily intended to be perpetual. The continuation of a center or institute will be examined annually to determine whether the operation of the center or institute will be continued or whether a sunset provision is appropriate. 

Through the application of these principles, this policy provides a framework to guide the university in establishing and monitoring centers and institutes. 

Centers and institutes may qualify for a non-academic lockup. All lockups must be approved by the appropriate division head, VP, or leadership team in advance of being created.

It is strongly recommended that non-academic units seek guidance from the Brand Review Committee prior to proposing a unit lockup. As official brand assets of the University of Cincinnati, center and institute lockups must be created by Marketing + Communications on approved, official template.

The development and use of separate logos to represent University of Cincinnati units and sub-brands, including centers and institutes, is prohibited. All new requests for a visual display inclusive of a unit’s name and identity must resolve as a lockup.

There are a few instances of units with legacy marks predating our lockup system. If changes are desired to these legacy marks, unit leadership must receive approval from Marketing + Communications.