UA to reveal new marketing campaign
Tuscaloosa News – Sept. 4
Saturday night, the University of Alabama will air the first of four television commercials built around the university’s new marketing and branding campaign. Dubbed “Touching Lives,” the campaign replaces “Crimson Is,” which UA officials are scrapping after three years. Three good years, at that. By almost any quantitative measure used to gauge the success of marketing a college campus — applications, enrollment and donations — “Crimson Is” was a runaway success. “It was successful. We were just ready for something new,” said Pam Parker, vice president for university advancement. “It went well, but what more could we do with it?” The new branding has already been unveiled online. UA’s Internet home page changed Aug. 31 to the “Touching Lives” theme, and Parker said this marketing effort will extend to every medium of communication by the university, unlike “Crimson Is.” “It’s one of those things that can touch a lot of areas,” she said…Of course, the entire “Touching Lives” campaign has not been seen, but it appears to be thematically the same as “Crimson Is,” highlighting various aspects of the university…The new marketing campaign has already brought about changes to UA’s home page. The “Crimson Is” home page launched in December 2006 but was replaced earlier this week. “We weren’t really do for a total redesign at this point, but we saw an opportunity to get better,” said Andy Rainey, UA’s director of Web communications. “We felt now was the time, with the kickoff of the campaign, to go ahead and do it.”…
Crimson White – Sept. 4
UA’s homepage gets new look
Crimson White – Sept. 4
The UA Web site, ua.edu, was revamped this week. Now, it is easier to navigate, and it incorporates multimedia, according to the Office of Web Communications. Andy Rainey, director of web communications, said the biggest changes are that the navigation links are streamlined across the top of the homepage, while videos and events are featured on the bottom. The site’s homepage also showcases far more photos than it did in the past. “All of our design, particularly on this site, is really informed by a lot of research into the best practices about what people are doing with the web in general,” Rainey said…
Seeking Angels
Chemical & Engineering News – Aug. 31
At the University of Alabama, as at other research universities, chemists work in an environment geared toward scientific inquiry and discovery. But for the chemist-turned-inventor, Alabama also offers the chance to start a business. In an all-day symposium… attendees learned how the Alabama Innovation & Mentoring of Entrepreneurs (AIME) program, and similar efforts at other universities, mines networks of successful alumni to help take inventions into the commercial realm. Dan Daly, the organizer of the symposium, is a Ph.D. chemist and also the director of AIME. He described its role as “adding value to our intellectual property. We focus on looking at the inventions and seeing what we can build from them.” One of AIME’s motivations is to help Alabama compete in the global marketplace. To do that, Daly explained, requires training students in entrepreneurship, assisting them with securing intellectual property, and helping them raise money…At AIME, Daly pays stipends to a small army of law students, masters of business administration students, and Ph.D. chemists to winnow business proposals on the basis of feasibility…Daly’s colleague Richard P. Swatloski, a licensing associate at the University of Alabama, explained how the school has worked to transform researchers into innovators…
Riley appoints UA professor
Crimson White – Sept. 4
Shirley Foster, a College of Human Environmental Science professor, was appointed by Gov. Bob Riley in July to serve as a commissioner on the Alabama Historical Commission, according to an announcement Wednesday. Foster, an assistant professor and interim chairwoman of the department of clothing, textiles and interior design, said she is privileged UA officials nominated her. “I was informed by the provost, Dr. Judy Bonner, and I am very excited about being a part of a group that is really dedicated to preserving things,” she said. She was nominated by the University to replace John Adams, a professor in the School of Social Work…
Students take part in UA health program
Scottsboro Daily Sentinel – Sept. 4
A select group of high school students from across the state—including two from Jackson County—recently completed the 2009 Rural Health Scholars Program at The University of Alabama. Section High School senior Max Gilbert and Skyline High School senior Jessica Sisk participated in the summer program, which introduces students from rural areas to college life and gives them an orientation to the need for health and medical professionals in communities like their own. Throughout the five-week program, the students live on the UA campus and take field trips to rural hospitals. The students also make a trip to one of the state’s medical schools to learn more about how to prepare academically for these careers. Chosen based on academic achievement and interest in rural health care, these students take two courses for college credit and attend seminars. The program is in its 16th year at UA in the College of Community Health Sciences and is directed by Cynthia Moore and Dr. John Wheat.