What motto did Rosalind Franklin University adopt in 2004?

Rosalind Franklin University adopted the motto “Life in Discovery” in 2004. The phrase accompanied the institution’s renaming as Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, replacing the former Finch University of Health Sciences identity.

The change honoured Rosalind Franklin, whose X-ray crystallography helped provide crucial evidence for the molecular structure of DNA. The university also adopted Photo 51—the famous DNA diffraction image—as its logo, linking the institution’s modern identity to Franklin’s scientific legacy.

A common mix-up is to confuse the motto with the university’s Latin rendering, “Vita In Inventione,” or with other science-themed phrases that sound plausible but are not the institution’s official motto. The university is a private graduate institution in North Chicago, Illinois, with programs spanning medicine, pharmacy, nursing, podiatric medicine and other health professions.