I think this is a great example of the age old 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. I personally don't like it. I think the star is too abrasive, the user ranks, quite frankly, look like something you'd expect to see in a Looney Toons cartoon.
The old ranks and font were appealing to look at, and lent an air of professionalism to the community, whereas the new logo has 'Disneyfied' it. I've also heard someone say that the new look is far too 'glitzy', which I completely agree with.
Perhaps before the higher-ups decide to make a huge brand change, it would be best to post some samples for the community to be able to provide input. The changes clearly aren't popular with a large portion of the active members, so now that they've been made, I think the best thing that could be is revert the changes and start a Leadership-sanctioned poll to gather input from the community BEFORE making any further changes.