On Monday, you received an email from Dr. Sonja Trent-Brown, Dr. Richard Frost, Dr. Gerald Griffin and Dr. Trygve Johnson about campuswide efforts to “Keep HOPE” through this election season. Today, we launched an Election 2020 webpage (hope.edu/election), where we will be sharing upcoming events, resources and opportunities to engage and support the campus community.
You can help with this initiative!
If your department or division would like to add content to hope.edu/election, please email me with your information. Currently, we are featuring *only* official Hope-sponsored events, resources and opportunities on the webpage; we are not using the site to promote external programs or share links to outside events.
If your event is not on the Hope calendar, please be sure to add it! And if a physical location on campus is needed for your event, make sure that you have reserved the space through EMS and that you are following all the guidelines for on-campus gatherings. Need help with any of this? Please email Julie Huisingh in Public Affairs and Marketing for assistance.
THANK YOU for all you’re doing to foster belonging, understanding and grace at Hope College!
Can you believe the start of the school year is nearly here? So many of us have been working countless hours to be HOPE READY for the start of the school year. What does HOPE READY mean? It means that on top of our current (and extended) responsibilities, we’re embracing (from an appropriate distance, of course) the guidelines for a safe re-engagement with the campus community. We’re washing hands, wearing face coverings, keeping physically distant, cleaning our work and study areas and holding one another accountable. How can you share the HOPE READY spirit with others?
By the way, if you’ve been near campus (which looks stunning, by the way), you’ll notice some beautiful new lightpole banners installed by our fantastic Physical Plant team. #KeepingHope will continue for the foreseeable future. It’s on all of us to keep the culture and enthusiasm of Hope College going no matter the format.
We can’t wait to see you again. Thank you for #KeepingHope all of these weeks and months. You are truly what makes this place exceptional.
We’re launching a fun new project for Hope employees to share some of the HOPE we have for our community, our students, our neighbors and so many others. So we made a simple little sign. (Maybe you saw a sneak peak of it during yesterday’s Class of 2020 Celebration?) A printable version is available below!
Here’s what we hope you’ll do…
Print your sign at home.
Take a photo of you holding the sign or it displayed in your home’s front window or on the front door. (We miss seeing your faces!)
Or, post the photo on your own social media account using #KeepingHope and tagging @hopecollege. (This only works if your posts or account are public!)
No printer at home? No problem! Complete this form and a sign will be mailed to you at home in a few days.
A niche hobby? A worldwide trend? A piece of nostalgia? A therapeutic outlet? Whatever the reason, your needs are covered. Public Affairs and Marketing has created a series of Hope-specific coloring pages for you and your families, friends, neighbors and coworkers to enjoy!
Download and print one, two or all of them. Show us your skills and creativity! Share your work on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, tag @hopecollege, use the hashtag #KeepingHope. Who knows? Maybe you’ll see a competition or two pop up.
Now that many of us are working from home, Zoom meetings and Google Hangouts are becoming part of our daily routines. It’s been fun to see how people are using technology like these and others to stay connected. Certainly, it’s not the same experience as being together in-person, but the changes we are experiencing are pushing all of us to think and work more creatively, and that’s a good thing!
For example, now you can “attend” meetings from some of Hope’s most iconic campus locations — the Dimnent Chapel Rose Window, DeVos Fieldhouse, the Martha Miller Center, the Jack H. Miller Center, and of course, the Pine Grove (below) — with our new virtual Hope College Zoom backgrounds. If you haven’t heard of custom Zoom backgrounds yet, read this article from cnet.
Pine Grove Zoom Background
Download Hope College backgrounds
Hope College Zoom backgrounds are available for download here.
Add a Hope background to Zoom on a mobile device
On your phone or tablet, open the Zoom app.
Click to start a new meeting or join a meeting.
Click anyone on your screen to see a menu on the bottom of your screen. In the lower right corner, click “More …” for more options.
Click on “Meeting Settings” and select “Virtual Background.”
Click the ➕ plus symbol to upload a new image. Select the image from your photo library, then close.
Add a Hope background to Zoom on a desktop computer
Note: Zoom backgrounds tend to work better using a mobile device than on your desktop. We suggest giving both methods a try to see which one works best for you.
Open up the Zoom desktop app.
Click the ⚙️ Settings gear.
Click the “Virtual Backgrounds” section. If you don’t have that, you may need to enable “Virtual Background” in your Zoom Profile Settings.
Click the ➕ plus symbol and choose one of the Hope backgrounds that you downloaded.
Click the ➕ plus symbol and select “Add Image”, and choose one of the Hope backgrounds that you downloaded.
When using a background on a desktop, starting with a green or dark background may prevent a certain amount of ghosting. Whether or not you do this, it’s ideal that the color of your clothing be different from what is in the background, otherwise it may confuse the camera and prevent it from distinguishing between foreground and background. For more tips and instructions, check out the Zoom website.
Once you’re successfully using a Hope background, take a screenshot of yourself and tweet it to us @HopeCollege. Happy Zooming!
The Steering Committee
has been getting lots of messages of appreciation from you, and it means the
world to us. But here’s the thing: We couldn’t do any of our work
without you… so, thank you! Our efforts
would be fruitless if we weren’t part of such a caring, student-centered
community.
YOU are keeping HOPE alive! You are stepping up to help with the
heavy lift, each in your own way, and you are making a difference. For that, we
say, We are so grateful! — and we ask you to pass along that
spirit of gratitude.
Here’s our request: Every day this week, take a few minutes to send a virtual “Postcard of Hope” to at least one coworker. (“Virtual postcard” is just a fancy term for “email message.”) Choose someone who may need extra encouragement. Maybe someone from outside of your department or division. Maybe even someone you don’t know well… or at all. (Need some help? Take a look at the Hope directory and pick a coworker!)
Tell ’em they’re appreciated. Tell ’em they’re missed. Tell ’em they’re doing a great job. Tell ’em you’re thinking of them and their loved ones. Help us spread a message of HOPE among all our colleagues.
Keep up the amazing work, everyone. And, don’t forget to post #KeepingHope messages from your social media accounts!
Thank you for
reminding us — everyday! — why we love Hope College.
Sincerely, Jennifer Fellinger Kristyn Bochniak Lindsey Engelsman Jeff Pestun Cady Short-Thompson
It’s been a few years since we launched Hope’s new website, and some of the corners are starting to collect dust. It’s time to freshen things up a bit! So, we’re asking every department, office and program at Hope to take a close look at their websites and make sure everything is shipshape.
We’ve put together a Web Content Audit Checklist (PDF) to guide you in examining and assessing your current web content. Please take a look at the document and plan to set aside some time this semester to review your website.
Without getting too terribly formal about it, here are three different approaches you can take:
1. I can do it!
You’ve got the checklist, and you’ve got the OU Campus know-how. Off you go! Let us know if you have any questions along the way. Otherwise, just tell us when you’re done, and we’ll scratch your website off our list.
2. I need a little help.
You’re ready to get started, but there are a few things on the list that you know you’ll need help with. Perfect! Get a hold of Josh Bishop (bishopj@hope.edu or x7066) and let him know how he can help. He can answer your questions via email, or chat on the phone or set up a meeting. In the meantime, feel free to get started with the rest of it on your own.
3. I don’t know where to start.
That’s okay! Just let Josh know, and he’ll add you to our list of sites to audit on our own. We’ll run through the checklist for you, recommend some changes, and reach out to you if we have any questions.
Do a quick checkup on your department’s social media accounts. Are they up to date? When is the last time you shared information? Are you following the Hope brand guidelines? Now is a good time to update your profiles to be ready for Day of Giving.
Look for people you should be following on social media such as distinguished alumni, other Hope departments and offices, faculty and staff, etc.
Begin promoting early by sharing the college’s “Save the Date” message
Week Before
Make sure you have access to all the materials available for Day of Giving. PAM will provide sample photographs, graphics, social media updates, etc. Be sure your materials are readily available on Day of Giving. Example: https://twitter.com/hsrtheatre/status/1116551518994329606
Familiarize yourself with the Giving dashboard – hope.edu/give2hope so that you understand how the giving process works.
Begin sharing information about Day of Giving such as the goal and a link to the giving page. You can use graphics provided in the resources folder or share the college’s tweets and posts.
Send a reminder to faculty and staff who will be helping to promote social media. Remind them of the official hashtag: #give2hope and website hope.edu/give2hope.
Day Of
Begin early by sharing the college’s kick-off message and video.
Check in the resources folder for any last-minute updates to content/photos.
Continue encouraging others to give throughout the day by sharing photos, videos or graphics about and in support of your department. These can be prepared in advance or taken on the day of.
How I love that cliché! (And I’m sure you are well aware that we sportswriters adore a good hackneyed phrase whenever possible. We like to go the extra mile, put the ball in play, and knock it out of the park!)
But this one cliché is different. I love it because it captures the true, full essence of sport, or any concerted endeavor really — because no person is an island (another cliché I admit, but this time not a sporty one) and we need talented, committed and forward-thinking people around us to achieve goals and make dreams come true.
Orange and Blue Illustrated, the new Hope College Athletics magazine, is that dream come true.
Rolled off the presses this week, and to be published twice a year, the first issue of Orange and Blue Illustrated is the culmination of months’ worth of brainstorming, proposal-making, photographing, interviewing, writing, designing, editing and proof-reading. Its goal is simply this:
To show and tell the many inspiring stories of how Hope student-athletes, coaches and staff live out their mission every day to compete with excellence, learn with diligence and lead lives of leadership and service. Their transformational experiences in competition, in the classroom, in service opportunities, internships and laboratories are Hope mainstays. The people you see in uniform competing, striving, winning and losing, are also the same people who spend hours upon hours in plain clothes becoming and being their best selves. Frankly, we are proud of these student-athletes and coaches who really do work hard, very hard, to make a difference in arenas of play but especially outside of them.
While I have the privilege of serving as the managing editor of Orange and Blue Illustrated, I am surrounded by extremely talented people on the OBI team — Sports information director Alan Babbitt, whose original idea to create a Hope sports magazine got this ball rolling (if you are counting, that’s my fifth sports cliché!); graphic designer Kate Folkert ’99 (and no, we are not related); photographers James Ellis, Steven Herppich, Jon Lundstrom, Lynne Powe ’86 and Tom Renner ’67; writers Josh Bishop, Odille Parker ’14, James Rogers ’14 and Kenedy Schoonveld ’21; and all of my Public Affairs and Marketing colleagues who advised and cheered this process on toward the finish line. Thank you all very much!
And my many thanks also go to the Hope student-athletes and coaches who agreed to be featured in this very first issue. They truly had no idea what they were getting themselves into, but they said “yes” anyway and I’m so glad they did. When you open Orange and Blue Illustrated, I think you’ll find — no, I know you’ll find — stories about those at Hope who play and compete, learn and live with a greater purpose just as God intended.
The first week of
spring-semester classes is almost behind us! I wish I could say the same about
winter weather, but alas, the snow, wind and cold temperatures will be with us
for a while yet. So, here is some information that you may wish to keep handy until
the tulips start blooming:
A decision to close
campus offices and cancel classes is typically announced prior to 6:30 a.m. In
the rare — and friends, it *IS* rare! — event that offices are closed and
classes are cancelled, you can find the announcement in the following places:
Media: The announcement will be shared with local media, including WTHS radio and WOOD, WZZM and WWMT television stations.
Text alert: The announcement will be issued via the HOPE ALERT emergency text messaging system. Please take a few minutes to verify that your emergency contact information is current by doing the following:
Select “Update Emergency Contacts.” Your name (Relationship: Self) and cell phone number entered as an Emergency Contact will register you to receive HOPE ALERT messages.
Remember, our
proximity to Lake Michigan affects our temperatures and precipitation. This
means that conditions on Hope’s campus may be very different from conditions on
other college campuses across the state, even those nearby. If you see that a
college in West Michigan is cancelling classes, please do not take it as an
indication that Hope will, or should, cancel classes.
Bundle up, stay warm
and enjoy the rest of the Michigan winter!
