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Bulldog Applause: spotlight on University Communications

University Communications team (front row): Ashton Hockman, Justice Simpson, Jeremy Sievers, Jill Brimeyer, and Emma Daily. (Back row) Sara Sommerlot, Jason Nunemaker, Dexter Jacobs, Meredith Ponder, Dave Remund, Jarad Bernstein, Aaron Jaco, and Tim Schmidt. Not pictured: Beth Wilson, Niki Smith, and Heidi Weiss.

Last week, Drake’s All Staff Council Recognition Committee celebrated the University Communications (UC) team with a surprise cookie delivery (compliments of Drake Dining). The following spotlight provides facts about UC and how they make Drake a better place.

Primary function: The Office of University Communications works to advance the image and reputation of Drake. The team focuses on the University’s key priorities, developing and implementing comprehensive communication strategies tailored to key stakeholder groups: faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors, community members, and the media. They also support campus partners by providing valuable tools that enable them to be strong brand ambassadors.

Staff:  There are 16 members of UC. Currently, there are two open positions.

Longest serving team member: Jeremy Sievers, director, digital communications. Jeremey started in August 2004 (13 years).

Newest team member: Dexter Jacobs, senior strategist, digital communications. Dexter started in November 2017.

What has University Communications been working on that the Drake community should know about?

  • UC is in the midst of implementing a new brand platform, with initial efforts focused on admission projects and key advancement needs.
  • So far this fiscal year, they have 696 jobs on the books, with 284 active jobs currently in the queue. This doesn’t count PR or internal communication projects.
  • They’re launching more self-service tools for campus partners every day.
  • Academic websites are in the process of being redesigned and relaunched (see news websites for CBPA, SJMC, and SOE).
  • UC planned and executed 31 print pieces in fall 2017 to push applications and encourage prospective students to visit, and helped Admission hit their target of 6,000 applications!

Resources: For great self-service tools, be sure to check out the Toolkit, which contains the recently updated Brand Style Guide as well as editorial guidelines, design standards, templates, social media tips, and more.

The Office of University Communications is located at 1229 25th Street, which is next door to Public Safety and across 25th Street from Old Main.

— Terri Howard, Law School/All Staff Council