March 15, 2007 Talking Points
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Next KU Communicators lunch will be noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 18, at KU Endowment. The presentation will cover the important subject of KU’s flu pandemic response guide. Speakers will include Carol Seager, director of Student Health Services; Dr. Patricia Denning, chief of staff for Watkins Memorial Health Center; and Mike Wildgen, incident management coordinator.
You will receive a lunch RSVP by email soon. Hold the date.
In search of graduation stories. Every May, the Office of University Relations promotes inspiring and interesting stories about KU candidates for degree who overcame especially challenging circumstances or achieved remarkable goals on their way down the Hill. In past years, such stories have included:
- A student who earned four degrees in three years
- Graduating families — twins, triplets, mothers and daughters, grandfathers and grandsons
- A student who was inspired to chose a career in pharmacy because of her own battle with illness
- Former professional athletes who returned to school to finish their degrees
- A student who commuted 450 miles weekly to complete her master’s degree
- A disabled student who walked down the hill with his companion dog
Last year’s stories can be found at: http://www.news.ku.edu/2006/may/17/gallery.shtml If you know a graduate with an interesting story, e-mail Jackie Hosey <jhosey@ku.edu> as soon as possible. Please include a brief synopsis of why you are nominating this student and his or her contact information, if you have it.
Another March in the Capitol. Communicators helped staff about 26 booths at the March 14 KU in the Capitol event. KU Alumni dished up 350 bowls of chili as part of a delicious, complimentary lunch; close to an equal number of Jayhawk lapel pins were handed out, not to mention hundreds of brochures, stickers, pens, and other freebies. A brief program recognized Audrey Allison, Belpre (near Larned) high school senior -- the 100,000th Kansan to be recognized as a Kansas Honors Program scholar by KU Alumni. Thanks to Margey Frederick, Jennifer Sanner, Keith Yehle, Heath Peterson, Mike Davis, and David Johnston for planning and staging the event. Kevin Boatright’s photos from KU in the Capitol are attached.
Take a walk. A new “Walking Tour of Historic Jayhawk Boulevard” brochure is available free at University Relations. KU communicators and representatives of other campus offices can request copies from Joanie Grosdidier at 785-864-3256. The brochure includes a map, color photographs and information about 16 buildings on Jayhawk Boulevard. The brochure gives readers a self-guided tour starting anywhere on the boulevard. University Relations printed 17,000 copies, which are distributed to the KU Visitor Center, Lawrence Visitor Center, and KU Info booth at the Kansas Union. Deb Graber, University Relations associate director, will have some on hand at the April Communicators meeting.
Just how does “KU Serves Kansas”? Does your unit have great little story to tell? Frank Barthell, UR broadcast coordinator, is soliciting communicators’ ideas for the radio spot series “KU Serves Kansas,” which plays throughout Jayhawk Radio Network broadcasts of KU football and basketball games and also on our on-hold music track. The best scripts tell brief examples of how individual Kansans have benefited from KU research or service. The melodious voice belongs to professional reader Richard Fatherly. You can listen to this year’s KU spots at http://www.ur.ku.edu/broadcast/audio/ and then email your suggestions to Frank fbart@ku.edu. Although the sports broadcasts represent University Communications’ largest radio buy, we are looking into other opportunities to air the 30-second spots.
Tweaks to Visual Identity guidelines. The campus talked; the Visual Identity Committee listened! The committee has approved several minor adaptations to the university’s visual identity guidelines. These include:
- An alternate letterhead that allows the department name to be positioned near the top of the page. The alternate is available when you do an online stationery order www.identity.ku.edu/order
- More legible business cards. The type has a thicker stroke and has been increased by one-point size.
An electronic letterhead prototype is now available. David Johnston, visual identity chair, reports that we are testing a new system for creating and delivering electronic letterhead to units. A Microsoft Word document template can be ordered online the same way you order printed letterhead. Visit www.identity.ku.edu/order to be among the first to test this new product.
They are what they are. A study of 388,000 press releases issued in 2006 revealed the most overused buzzwords and PR jargon. No. 1, according to Ragan’s Media Relations Report, was “next generation.” The others were: flexible, robust, world class, scalable, easy to use, cutting edge, well positioned, mission critical, market leading, industry standard, turnkey, groundbreaking, best of breed, enterprise class, user friendly, enterprisewide, interoperable, extensible and breakthrough.
A different survey of business and trade leaders on hackneyed phrases in press materials showed 94 percent picking “leading” (as in “a leading producer of”) as the top most useless phrase. The second was “We’re excited about” when used in quoting an executive.
KU goodies for 400 gifted 7th graders. On Sunday, June 3, KU is again the designated host for a recognition program for 400 or so gifted Kansas 7th graders selected by the Duke University Talent Identification Program. For KU, it’s an opportunity to welcome talented kids from across the state on what may be their first visit to Mount Oread. The students and their families have a day of activities, starting at the Kansas Union in the morning and ending at the Lied Center for the recognition program in the afternoon. Contact Margey Frederick mfrederick@ku.edu or David Johnston davidjohnston@ku.edu if you want to donate promotional items for a drawing or for the 400 gift bags we hand to students at the end of the day.
Assessing the “What to do at KU” supplement. KU units who advertised in the spring KU calendar supplement to the Journal World were "extremely satisfied" or "satisfied", according to a recent poll. Most would be interested in "future advertising opportunities," despite the difficulty of measuring the effectiveness of a single ad. Contact David Johnston davidjohnston@ku.edu to offer your thoughts or interest in similar advertising opportunities.
A Day in Cottonwood Falls and Council Grove. The Unclassified Professional Staff Association has asked Margey Frederick to organize a May 9 day trip to historic sites Cottonwood Falls and Council Grove. The bus will accommodate 45 KU staff members; UPSA will announce the trip soon. Stay tuned.
Name change alert. In case you missed it, the KU School of Architecture and Urban Planning is the new, formal name of our architecture school, effective immediately. The school’s former name was the School of Architecture and Urban Design.
COMINGS & GOINGS
Video editor Jim Jewell, who had perched for 14 months at University Relations after Continuing Education’s AOP video services unit closed, is joining Mark Crabtree at the Kansas Memorial Unions’ KU Media Productions. Jewell’s transfer signals the Unions’ effort to support a comprehensive video services unit for the campus. KU Media Productions has offered video conferencing and audio-video production and recording services for events and conferences. The expanded unit will provide fee-based videography services to all units across campus. The service is much needed, and should be a great success. For more information, contact Jim jjewell@ku.edu or Mark at KU Media Productions, 864-7848.
Jen Humphrey, long-time senior editor for KU Endowment, last month was named communications officer for the KU Museum of Natural History and Biodiversity Institute. Her new email address is jenlynnh@ku.edu
Mai Do has been marketing coordinator for KU Student Health Services since late fall. She had previously worked at an Overland Park ad agency since graduating from KU in 2003 with a degree in journalism and communication studies. Mai handles marketing, PR, advertising, special events, publications and news.
