“There are two distinct languages.
There is the verbal, which separates people…
and there is the visual that is understood by everybody.”
— Yaacov Agam
Enterprises in the business of reducing the cost of the secondary purpose of the academy need to brighten things up a bit. Reducing cost to build and operate public assets is never as glamorous as making money; a feature of the consumer finance sector that insurance companies have managed with lighthearted campaigns. AFLAC uses a duck. GEICO uses a caveman and a lizard. Progressive Insurance uses a lady in white.
With publicly owned assets, however, the price signaling is largely hidden–except in cases of catastrophic cost overrun stories that make their way to headlines. It is more often the case that price signals are conveyed into material and labor costs of construction project bid tabs or facility O&M recharge rates back to academic units which then find their way into the cost sheets of federally-sponsored research. Pretty dreary stuff for most people.
Standards Michigan tries to leaven understanding of the financial underpinnings of a large public sector with fair use of royalty-free images that enlighten understanding of the character of these “cities-within-cities” near the center of cultural and commercial life in every nation.
With our selection of images, we honor the settings and accomplishments of our colleagues in all education communities. Banner images are coded to change every 8 to 12 hours. To the furthest extend possible we provide direct links to images that reside on organizational servers. We have plenty of content on our own servers and do whatever is possible to limit local storage. Simply clicking on the image should redirect you to its source. The same applies to logo policies.
All images are obtained either from Wikimedia Commons, university public relations departments or social media postings that are available royalty-free to the public at the time they were available. We have technical constraints — such as a 1920 x 720 pixels and resolution — that dominate image selection consideration. The vertical constraint of 720 pixels is a particular challenge but presents a clean visitor experience without the “Hollywood” and the running fire of pop-ups of other content management systems.
We hope our colleagues and visitors will not be shy about sending us their high resolution photos (1920 x 720 pixels) to showcase their accomplishments. Owing to the astonishing propagation of image platforms for pay it becomes more difficult to assign appropriate credit to the image creator; though not as much with X(Twitter) images. We do our level best.
U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index
March 1, 2024: We have been struggling to resolve image server anomalies. We typically provide a link embedded in the image so that you need only slick the image for a re-direction. Where we know of the issue at the image server source, we will provide a separate link to the image page.
Mississippi State University | June 22, 2023 | Commercial Kitchen Photos by David Ammon
“Country School” | 1946 | Norman Rockwell | February 28, 2023
The painting was originally created as the cover illustration for the Saturday Evening Post on March 2, 1946. Its inspiration came from Rockwell’s own childhood experiences attending a one-room schoolhouse in Vermont. The specific location depicted in the painting is not known, but it was likely a composite of different schools that Rockwell had seen or visited. It captures a sense of nostalgia for a simpler time when children learned in a communal setting, and the teacher played a central role in their education and personal development. Rockwell’s attention to detail in the painting, including the expressions on the children’s faces and the various objects in the room, create a vivid sense of realism and immersion in the scene.
Overall, “Country School” is a celebration of the importance of education, community, and childhood, and remains one of Rockwell’s most iconic works.
“A Country Schoolroom” 1871 Winslow Homer | February 28, 2023
This painting is also sometimes referred to as “New England Country School.” It depicts a rural classroom with children and a young teacher, surrounded by the natural beauty of the Catskill Mountains in New York. Homer was known for his depictions of rural life, and “A Country Schoolroom” is a prime example of this theme in his work.
The painting is notable for its realism and attention to detail, from the rough wooden desks and chairs to the slate chalkboards and open textbooks. Homer’s use of light and shadow adds depth and atmosphere to the scene, and the expressions on the faces of the students and teacher convey a sense of seriousness and concentration.
Overall, “A Country Schoolroom” is a tribute to the value of education and the importance of community in rural America. The painting is currently in the collection of the St. Louis Art Museum and is considered one of Homer’s most iconic works.
Steeplechase Stroboscopic Photo | University of Colorado Boulder | ESPN | April 15, 2023
Women in Welding | Oklahoma Technical College | February 9, 2023 – This image is everywhere but unattributed but just to be sure we acknowledge that the image may be copyright protected.
University of Aberdeen | King’s College Chapel | May 29, 2022
University of Washington | Erwin Buske | April 25, 2022
University of Michigan | Mike Anthony | November 9, 2021
University of Cambridge | @SirCam | July 30, 2021
New Construction Image Credits | June 2, 2021
Georgian Court University | Angelina Monaco | May 29, 2021
University of Washington | Bob Noble Photography | April 16, 2021
University of Cambridge | @SirCam | April 4, 2021
American University in Cairo | Archello | March 11 2021
University of Utah | February 18
University of Michigan | 29 January 2021 | Jerry Lai USA Today
Texas Tech | 11 January 2021 | Ashley Rogers
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University | 17 December 2020 | Fisher Marantz Stone
Study in Sweden Student Blog |13 December 2020
University of Kentucky | 20 November 2020 | Steve Patton
University of Cambridge | 7 November 2020 |Sir Cam
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela | October 5, 2020 | Photo Credit: See Signature
Duquesne University Chapel | September 13, 2020 | Kristen Vota Photography
Lightridge High School | September 1, 2020 | Howard Shockey & Sons, Inc.
Vanderbilt University | August 18, 2020 | John Russell
Michigan State University | July 30, 2020 | James Siatczynski
Ryerson University | June 4, 2020 | Scott Norsworthy
University of British Columbia Aquatic Centre | May 1, 2020 | Acton Ostry Architects
Rutgers University Nursing & Science Library | April 20, 2020 | Journal of the American Institute of Architects
Harvard Divinity School | April 5, 2020 | Boston’s Hidden Sacred Spaces
Magdelen College, University of Oxford | March 30, 2020
University of Saskatchewan | March 18, 2020 | Photo by David Stobbe
Aalto University | March 4, 2020 | Photo by Mike Huisman
University of Florida | February 14, 2020 | Photo by Richard Forbes
Stanford University | January 24, 2020 | Photo by Frank Chen
Aalto University | January 17, 2020 | Photo by Adolfo Vera
University of Vaasa Shipboard Laboratory | January 16, 2020 | Photo by Satu Aaltonen
香港大學 / University of Hong Kong Art Museum | December 26, 2019
Cambridge University | December 10, 2019 | Photo by Sir Cam
University of Maryland | November 16, 2019 | Unsplash photo by Jeffrey F. Lin
London School of Economics | November 5, 2019 | Photo by Mark Wallinger
University of Tartu | October 29, 2019 | Photo by Matīss Rikters
University of Cambridge | October 28, 2019 | Photo by SirCam @cambridgediary
Sahlgrenska Universitetssjukhuset | October 22, 2019 | Photo by Marie Ullnert
Clemson University | October 16, 2019 | Photo by Ken Scar
Yale University Chapel | October 13, 2019 | Photo by Harold Shapiro
Our Lady of the Lake University | October 6, 2019 | Photo by J.N. Rodriguez
University of California San Diego | October 3, 2019 | Photo by student Eric Jepsen
Cornell University | September 8, 2019 | Cornell Marketing
Virginia Wesleyan University | September 5, 2019 | Photo by
University of California San Diego | August 27, 2019 | Photo by student Eric Jepsen
University of Bristol | August 24, 2019 | Photo by student Stefan Line
National Research Tomsk State University | August 17, 2019 | Legion Media
University of Queensland | August 1, 2019 | Photo by alvinyjh
Utah State University | July 1, 2019 | The Danville 2nd Ward Young Men Wikia
Union City New Jersey High School | June 30, 2019 | Photo by Borst Landscape & Design
The Regent University | June 18, 2019 | Photo by Julia Denton
Michigan State University Solar Parking Lot | June 12, 2019 | Photo by Innovateus
Michigan State University Facility for Rare Isotopes Beams | May 30, 2019 | Photo by MSU Today
Cambridge American Cemetary | May 27, 2019 | American Battle Monuments Commission
University of the Virgin Islands | May 17, 2019 | Photo by Sphilbrick
University of British Columbia | May 15, 2019 | Photo by JoJo Das
Image selection is based solely upon the art and quality of the image. Image selection does not either imply an endorsement or intended to suggest a shortcoming in safety or sustainability. We maintain an accessible log of image use every 30 days.
“Painting is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do.”