UM-Flint University Relations

It is time to end awards for marketing in higher education. What is the point of awards anyway? Yeah, I know: – Recognition from colleagues – Institutional Pride – Morale-building for staff – Validation of work But really….beyond the award ceremonies, what do these awards actually do or mean for your operation? While it is […]

This summer is the season of change in the Office of University Relations at UM-Flint. The 5th floor of the Northbank Center is a bit emptier as we bid farewell to three staff members. All wonderful contributors and good friends, off to pursue excellent opportunities and leave their mark in the world. Now it’s time […]

As Tim Nekritz (@TimNekritz), director of web communication and associate director of public affairs at SUNY Oswego recently pointed out, there are no social media gurus– we are all students. I’m going to pull a quote right from his post, just in case you don’t click the link to his blog. Social media is an ever-evolving landscape. […]

  Snake oil. Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? Just what kind of brew is boiled down essence of snake? Can you drink it? Do you even want to? It seems that vast quantities of snake oil are being consumed across higher education in the form of vendor products that promise to cure what ails you, but […]

Is there anyone out there who works for a university that doesn’t have diversity as a core value? I didn’t think so. Chances are, your university is full of councils and task forces devoted to diversity. Diversity is in your institution’s mission statement. Your leadership heralds diversity in nearly every speech and official document. So […]

A fast blog post with two things to get creative juices flowing…. Here’s a link to a great blog called Marketing for Higher Ed. Always good stuff, including this post on Top 10 Facebook Landing pages. What can you do to make your landing page better? And, I recommend subscribing to the Educational Marketing Group […]

With all new years come new resolutions, new hopes, new dreams. Most people decide to get organized, which is why you see an over-abundance of storage containers at your favorite stores. Well, that’s happening for us too, but 2011 for UR is the year for new beginnings, new campaigns, and new and exciting endeavors. One […]

In nearly every meeting I attend at UM-Flint, the topic of the “student experience” is discussed.  This is a good thing–clearly it is a concern and perspective that is considered at every level of the university.  Lots of time and energy is devoted to this issue. But, there is a huge chasm between the talk […]

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/18221324[/vimeo] Hi-res version

It’s been a long road, and we haven’t yet reached the end. But the University of Michigan-Flint is finally on its way to having a branded presence on Foursquare. It wasn’t long ago that Foursquare began partnering with colleges and universities by offering a way for students to connect through the location-based application. A small group of […]