The Rambler: Evolution of a Nameplate

Historical Context

New York State School of Agriculture on Long Island was established in 1912 as an institute for agricultural study and quickly developed into a college of applied science and technology. Today, Farmingdale State College is the largest college of technology within the State University of New York system, with over 9,000 students enrolled. The school changed its name multiple times and was officially named Farmingdale State College in 2006.

Pre-1920: New York State School of Agriculture on Long Island (NYSSA)
1920: State Institute of Applied Agriculture on Long Island
1924: State Institute of Applied Agriculture
1939: State Institute of Agriculture
1946: Long Island Agricultural and Technical Institute (LIATI)
1953: SUNY Long Island Agricultural and Technical Institute at Farmingdale, New York
1966: Agricultural and Technical College at Farmingdale
1987: SUNY College of Technology at Farmingdale
1993: Farmingdale State College
2002: Farmingdale State
2006: Farmingdale State College


The Rambler

The students' newsletter of New York State School of Agriculture on Long Island “The Furrow” was published from 1916 to1922. Then “The Aggazette” was printed from1929 to 1948 and later changed its name to “The Rambler” in 1948 which was published until 2016 when it became “Dale News”, the current student newspaper for Farmingdale State College-SUNY.  Today, The Rambler is a great resource for historical information about the college and its alumni.

The Evolution of the Rambler’s Nameplate

A nameplate is a stylized banner on the front page of a newspaper that identifies the publication. The Rambler’s nameplate has changed many times since it was first published. In the 1950s and mid-60s, it was a Combination Mark consisting of the name in various typefaces and illustrations of a Ram. In the ‘70s, the image of the Ram became more modern and simplified. In the ’80s and '90s, the designers experimented with Typographic Logos and used various display typefaces in serif and sanserif variations. In 2004, the Ram image with some variations was added again.

Added by:  Professor Roshanak Keyghobadi, EdD 
Visual Communications Department
Farmingdale State College-SUNY

Research Assistants:
Gabriel Aguilar, RAM Scholar | Farmingdale State College-SUNY
Yiria Saca, RAM Scholar | Farmingdale State College-SUNY

Sources:

Thomas D. Greenley Library at Farmingdale State College

https://www.farmingdale.edu/library/

https://www.farmingdale.edu/library/college-archives/history-name.shtml

https://www.farmingdale.edu/library/college-archives/index.shtml