University Letterhead

Formal but contemporary in appearance, the university’s letterhead has been carefully coordinated with the graphic identity program.

The university seal in full color takes the primary position in the letterhead grid. Information identifying the university and the particular college, school, unit, department or program is positioned below the seal. Various services provided by a college, school, unit, department or program may NOT be listed on the university letterhead. Listing such services could unnecessarily clutter the official letterhead. The left margin leads the eye through the important elements: the unit of the university, the unit's address and mail stop, a nine-digit zip code (the university's 93740 zip plus four digits specifying the building), and telephone and FAX numbers.

Email addresses may not be printed on letterhead because this would require separate letterhead for each individual in a unit. Email addresses may appear within the text of a letter. However, an official Frenso State "listserv" address may be included for a college, school, unit, department or program such as "program@listserv.csufresno.edu."

How is letterhead obtained on campus?

Only Printing Services imprints the stationery. Submit orders for stationery on an annual usage basis in units of 500 sheets and at least 90 days in advance of need. Blank second sheets may be ordered with letterhead. Under no circumstances is photocopying letterhead permitted.

Maintain the integrity of the letterhead

Additional borders, markings, slogans, designs, emblems or seals may not be part of the letterhead. Any exceptions to the above standards require the written approval of the vice president for University Advancement or director of university Web communicaitons and publications.

Are there exceptions to letterhead standards?

Normally, all official university postal communications intended for off-campus recipients will appear on the official letterhead. An exception has been made in the case of named, endowed schools, which may develop their own letterheads if so desired. Although permission is granted to develop a separate look from that of standard university letterhead, the name "California State University, Fresno" still must appear on the letterhead. Currently, the Craig School of Business; the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology; the Benjamin and Marion Kremen School of Education and Human Development; and Lyles College of Engineering, are the only named or endowed schools or colleges.

The standards for second pages of letters are similar to those for the first. A left margin kept at 1.86 inches will enhance the style of your communication. If your department routinely sends letters of several pages, order blank second sheets with letterhead.

To prevent degradation of the official university letterhead, maintain the integrity of the identity standards and compliance with university policy, alterable, electronic versions of the letterhead are not permitted. However, a university masthead has been developed that can be used to add authority to electronic communications. This masthead is available by contacting the Office of University Communications. As an alternative, your communication on letterhead can be scanned and converted to a PDF document for electronic transmission.