Feedback From Faculty, Students, Staff Guiding University's Future Messaging

Photo Submitted

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – It’s difficult to sum up what makes the University of Arkansas special. There are countless ways to articulate the unique value and impact the university provides, and many different perspectives to consider. With this in mind, Chancellor Joe Steinmetz has asked University Relations to lead a campuswide process to develop a unifying messaging theme to be used to guide the university’s primary messaging efforts moving forward.

Considering the viewpoints of groups across campus and beyond is a crucial step in identifying key themes that can be used to communicate about the university.

“We need a more integrated approach to articulating who we are and what we stand for,” said Steinmetz. “I believe developing a unifying theme for the campus will help us define and reinforce our mission and core institutional values. The unifying theme will also provide a conceptual framework for talking about what is being done at the unit, college or university level. This can be a very valuable tool for our campus, and I encourage you to participate when asked to be a part of this process.”

The process includes several opportunities for involvement and feedback from the campus community, including working groups, in-depth interview opportunities, town hall meetings, surveys and focus groups.

“We want to hear from you,” said Amy Schlesing, director of strategic communications for the Office of University Relations. “We started this effort with the understanding that feedback from our campus community and beyond is an essential part of the process. Your input will help ensure that the results are not just beneficial to guiding future messaging but also authentic to the University of Arkansas.”

A series of in-depth interviews are currently being conducted with a wide range of stakeholders including faculty, staff, students, alumni, benefactors, parents of current students, prospective students, high school counselors, state and national higher education leaders and media, trustees, as well as community, business and agriculture leaders from across the state. The qualitative feedback garnered through the interviews will help guide the early phases of the theme’s development.

All faculty, staff and students will be invited to public town hall sessions in the coming months and asked to complete an online survey in the fall. Faculty, staff and students are also represented on four working groups created to help guide the process from start to finish. The working groups met for the first time in late March.

“I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into at first, but the academic working group I was a part of was engaged from the start,” said Thomas Jensen, marketing professor and Walmart Lecturer in Retailing at the Sam M. Walton College of Business. “We offered suggestions that resulted in some changes to this process that we think will be very helpful. I’m now a part of a smaller team that volunteered to help develop a survey instrument. It’s certainly rewarding to be working with faculty from across the campus who have the research expertise needed for this effort.”

Several small focus groups will be assembled later this year to help review and refine final messaging options. University Relations plans to launch the unifying messaging theme in fall 2018.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.