coe-staff: Communications: What's Happening and What is the New Process?

[Jessica Roberts]

Greetings to all,

Now that I’ve completed my first 10 weeks in this position as Director of Communications, I wanted to give everyone an update on what to expect in the coming 12-18 months.

First of all, I have really enjoyed meeting with so many of you and learning about all the wonderful things that are happening here in the College of Education. I am determined to shine more light on, and bring more awareness to, the incredible things that are happening here that are sliding under the radar.

One of the key things necessary to achieve this is to establish a relatable identity for our college as a whole, and subsequently a strategy for communicating that identity to others. In the coming months we will be establishing new approaches to some old tactics, new tactics altogether, and creating new communications outlets for appropriate audiences. These tactics are designed to allow us to communicate in a targeted and meaningful way – and so that we have a process for how information is shared, and a strategy for why and when to share it.

In the next 12-18 months, I will be focusing on building the “foundation” pieces that are necessary to build this identity in order to reach our goals including, but not limited to:

  *   Improving our status within the eyes of our peer universities and researchers
  *   Increasing the awareness of our offerings within and outside the UO
  *   Improving our student recruitment (specifically with regard to diversity and equity)
  *   Recognizing and recruiting faculty and staff
  *   Increasing reach and awareness among our research and outreach units’ key audiences

Some examples of key tactics that will be taking priority are:

  *   Working with Central Communications to establish the new website
  *   Creating a COE overview booklet of the college which highlights each degree path
  *   Updating the Annual Report for more widespread distribution and uses
  *   Supporting our research and outreach units and the HEDCO clinic in messaging/mediums and reach as needed
  *   Increasing our visibility within media coverage on topics that are in our realm of focus – even as a secondary focus
  *   Strategic social media postings to start more dialogue with our audiences

I am looking forward to working with you to re-imagine this new foundation and will be coming to you for your input and guidance along the way to ensure that we are working towards a process that works for everyone.

Fortunately, the majority of these changes are consistent with our long-term intent to approach communications more strategically as a college. The timing also aligns with a recent request from President Schill to decrease the quantity of printed pieces across campus, and instead find more strategic, cohesive and electronic ways to share our message, and accomplish our goals. This directive has been reinforced by requests from the new Provost and VP of Communications who have asked for a communications strategy and plan from each college – project support will then be prioritized based on needs that align with those tactics.

I want to emphasize that while we focus on re-building, I plan to continue to listen to your needs and learn from our history and culture. While we will not be able to accommodate every request that comes in, knowing your ongoing needs will allow us to create a plan that works for all.  To make sure I capture your requests clearly, in a separate email, I will send you a request form that I plan to use to track and prioritize any urgent requests you may have as I work through the foundation pieces above. Because resources are limited, I will be working with the Dean to ensure that preference is given to those items that are deemed necessary to achieving the College of Education’s goals and priorities as outlined in the Strategic Framework.

I will be presenting a more in-depth look at the communications, strategy and tactic timeline at the first all faculty and staff meeting of the Academic Year in September. I can address any questions and provide color to the above update at that time.


Best,
Jessica

Jessica Roberts
Director of Communications
College of Education
541.346.8979

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