Your Next Steps for the New Website

We’ve recently reached out to Department Chairs/Leaders, Office Managers, and Web Content Editors across campus to invite them to one of five sessions titled, “Your Next Steps for the new Website.”

At these sessions we’re excited to provide a report on the progress of the website redesign project and to lay out specific next steps and action items pertaining to department/office websites. The meetings will include tools and tasks for departments/offices to begin working through, including a Web Content Checklist for Departments document.

We’ll be following these meetings up with “Writing for the Web” training sessions which will be open to the entire campus community and designed to support those who develop content for departmental sites, more info to come on these soon!

Thank you to the campus community for your patience and partnership as we work together to tell our stories through the Hope College website. Please feel free to contact us at web@hope.edu with any questions.

Website and New Team!

Many of you have been asking about the new Hope College website. Thanks for your interest and your patience as we work through such a massive project!

In the next few weeks, we will be scheduling meetings for department chairs, office managers and others to lay out specific next steps and action items for the web. Those meetings will be followed by training sessions designed to support individuals involved in developing new content for their departmental sites. Also in the coming weeks, we will be rolling out new tools and processes for submitting your job requests — for web, print and more — to the Office of Public Affairs and Marketing. Our goal is to be more effective in serving the entire Hope community.

Many of you have already met the newest members of the Public Affairs and Marketing staff. We invite to drop by our offices on the second floor of the Anderson-Werkman building to say hello to:

Elizabeth Council, Digital Strategist: Elizabeth is focusing on social media, analytics, and other digital projects. She joined us from RCP Marketing in Muskegon where she served as a digital strategist and account manager for more than 20 clients including Muskegon Community College in addition to volunteering for TEDxMuskegon as the social media and website manager. She holds a journalism degree from Michigan State University.

Josh Bishop, Web Content Manager: Josh will be critical in the development of fresh content for our new website. He came from Williams Group in Grand Rapids where he has served as a writer. For the past eight years, he has worked as a professional writer and editor for production houses, magazine and book publishers, and digital media outlets. He volunteers as a writer and editor for Engedi Church. He holds an English and journalism degree from Metropolitan State College of Denver.

Paul Willard, Graphic Designer: Paul is developing various print materials for campus departments. He joined us from Ferris State University in Big Rapids, having served as graphic designer and marketing specialist for auxiliary enterprises. Paul has held roles in student affairs including area coordinator, hall director and advisor for the Alpha XI Delta sorority. He holds a graphic design, advertising and marketing degree from Central Michigan University and is in the process of completing a master’s degree in college student affairs from Eastern Illinois University.

New Faces in Public Affairs and Marketing

We’re pleased to share that three new staff members joined our team today.

Elizabeth Council is our new Digital Strategist. She is joining us from RCP Marketing in Muskegon where she has served as a digital strategist and account manager for more than 20 clients including Muskegon Community College in addition to volunteering for TEDxMuskegon as the Social Media and Website Manager. She has a Journalism degree from Michigan State University.

Josh Bishop is our new Web Content Manager. He is joining us from Williams Group in Grand Rapids where he has served as a writer. For the past eight years he has worked as a professional writer and editor for production houses, magazine and book publishers, and digital media outlets. He volunteers as a writer and editor for Engedi Church. He has an English and Journalism degree from Metropolitan State College of Denver.

Paul Willard is our new Graphic Designer. He is joining us from Ferris State University in Big Rapids where he served as Graphic Designer and Marketing Specialist for Auxiliary Enterprises. He has previously held roles in student affairs including Area Coordinator and Hall Director and is an advisor for the Alpha XI Delta sorority. He has a Graphic Design, Advertising and Marketing degree from Central Michigan University and a masters degree in College Student Affairs in progress from Eastern Illinois University.

Please join us in welcoming our new members of our team as we begin the new year!

New developments in Public Affairs and Marketing

In the recent months, a number of changes have taken place as our new Public Affairs and Marketing division takes shape. As you may have noticed, we posted a number of new positions. Look for updates on those hires in the weeks ahead. Following are some of the internal staffing developments to more strategically support our responsibilities and the needs of campus.

Derek Emerson is now the Director of Public Affairs and Events. He will continue to be responsible for the Events and Conferences Office (ECO). Additionally, he is now working with the team responsible for public affairs – Alan Babbitt, Greg Olgers and Lynne Powe.

Theresa Bravata is now the Assistant Director of Events and Conferences, taking on additional supervisory and leadership responsibilities in ECO.

Jason Cash is the newly appointed Director of Web Communications. Jason is responsible for web development, social media and digital strategy, including the new hope.edu site.

Craig Tommola has joined our team in a full-time capacity as Web Developer and Designer.

Rebecca Robrahn is now the Director of Creative Services. She is managing both internal and external creative projects that involve graphic design, branding and messaging.

Please join me in congratulating them on their new roles! We all look forward to partnering with you on your events and projects!

Jennifer Fellinger
Vice President Public Affairs and Marketing​

URL Structure

There’s nothing like the topic of “URL structure” to really get your adreneline pumping on a Monday morning, right? Alright, so perhaps it’s not the first thing on your mind, but it’s an important part of a website readesign project!

We were recently asked if URLs will be changing during the site transition. Although some of the department and office URLs may change during the transition, we will work to setup redirects so that users don’t experience “not found” issues when we transition.

We also reached out to our experts at Mighty to weigh in on URL best practices:
When thinking about the URL structure for our new site, keep in mind that, in general, good URLs are relatively easy for human beings to read, understand, and type. URLs that make semantic sense are also easier to email, memorize, share, and guess, and positively influence SEO.

If we follow these five “rules” we should be in good shape:

  • Use natural language (avoid shorthand and abbreviations)
  • Separate words with dashes (not underscores or spaces)
  • Use lowercase
  • Avoid query parameters unless needed
  • Avoid file extensions

Adding to the team

We wanted to share some exciting developments in how we’ll be resourced to continue the website redesign project as well as the long term support of the Hope College website.

This week, we posted two new web related positions: a Digital Strategist and a Web Content Manager. You can learn more about these positions by reading their descriptions.

In addition, we’re pleased to announce that later this month, Craig Tommola, who currently serves our team part-time will become a full-time employee at Hope in the position of Web Developer and Designer.

We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to add to the Public Affairs & Marketing team, especially to support our efforts on the web. We would welcome your assistance in helping to spread the word to great candidates about these new positions.

*Update: We’re also adding a Graphic Designer to our team, learn more by viewing our the job postings.

Campusmail

There have been some changes to the CAMPUSMAIL system in the past year and we continue to plan for further improvements.
 
What is CAMPUSMAIL?
  • CAMPUSMAIL is the official email distribution system of the college.
  • Your message can be sent to all employees or only facult​y​.
What kinds of messages can go in CAMPUSMAIL?
  • Your message should be related to Hope College events or members of the Hope College community.
  • Messages must come for a faculty or staff Hope College email account (@hope.edu).
  • On occasion the distributor may decline to send the proposed message. If this is the case, the sender will be contacted.
When are CAMPUSMAIL messages sent?
  • Messages are sent three (3) times per day, Monday – Friday.
  • If your message requires immediate distribution, please call Public Affairs and Marketing at x7860 and ask for Julie Huisingh.
  • ​If a message is necessary over the weekend, please CC: to Julie Huisingh (huisingh@hope.edu).
I’m ready to send a CAMPUSMAIL message – what’s next?
  • Compose your message and ask a colleague to review the text for clarity, typos, dates/times.
  • Your message should be included in the body and not as an attachment. Attachments can slow or even stop the distribution.
 
Subject:  Choose a subject that describes the message
 
First line of body – distribution instructions:  
Send to Faculty or Send to All Employees, etc.
 
Second line of body – heading:  
CAMPUSMAIL DISTRIBUTION (From Professor Jane Doe)
 
​How do I communicate with the student body?​
  • ​ CAMPUSMAIL is only used for student messages ​for events or incidents affecting all or most of the student body (e.g., safety alert, snow day, etc.​)​
  • General announcements can be posted on KnowHope ​by sending them to knowhope@hope.edu. KnowHope announcements are posted for approximately 48 hours.
  • The Registrar’s Office can assist with sending messages to students identified by targeted groups (e.g., students by course, students by class/cohort, students by major/minor, etc.)
  • Visit the STUDENTMAIL site for more information about sending to the student body.
​If you have any questions about CAMPUSMAIL​ or KnowHope, please contact Julie Huisingh (huisingh@hope.edu) or Lynne Powe (powe@hope.edu). We look forward to working with you!

What is Web Content Governance anyway?

Content Governance (how we support, maintain, and manage the website) can be a confusing topic. No fear, it is our goal introduce this topic to the campus community and leverage it to help us build a sustainable website.

In order to do this, we’re looking at roles, processes, and workflows to begin mapping out what effective content governance looks like in the context of Hope College.

A tool we’re also working on to supplement these efforts is a Web Content Guideline document. This document will highlight:

  • Brand, voice, and tone
  • Content strategy
  • Tips for writing for the web
  • Style and grammar
  • and more!

We’re also preparing a department checklist which will offer specific items departments can do to prepare for the coming redesign.

It is our hope through conversations, training, workshops, and documentation that the campus community will feel well equipped to use the technical tools and create content for a great web experience on hope.edu!

Greetings from the new Public Affairs and Marketing Division

I am happy to officially announce the formation of the new Public Affairs and Marketing Division! This division is composed of the Events and Conferences (ECO) staff, the former Public and Community Relations staff and the former Integrated Marketing staff — a group of talented, enthusiastic individuals whose dedication is driven by a genuine love of Hope College. I feel so blessed to be working with this team!

One of the overarching goals of the Public Affairs and Marketing Division is to generate understanding of, engagement with and support for Hope College. In working toward that goal, we will be telling the Hope story to an ever-growing audience. We inviteyou to take an active role in sharing Hope success stories on the regional, national and international stage! Our aim is to provide high-quality creative and communication services that support a campus-wide effort to build the visibility and reputation of Hope College. We will provide regular updates on developments in our division; in the meantime, please continue to offer your ideas and feedback.

Come visit us! The entire Public Affairs and Marketing team is now located in the Anderson-Werkman Financial Center. The ECO remains on the first floor of Anderson-Werkman, while the rest of the team is housed in suites 230 and 240. Please stop by and say hello. We’d love to show you our campus home!
We look forward to serving you and shining the spotlight on Hope College!

All the best,
Jennifer Fellinger
Vice President, Public Affairs and Marketing