A new brand strategy is at the heart of the redesigned DU Web site that launches Sept. 14.
Visitors to www.du.edu will find a new homepage with links for different audience groups and top-level pages that focus on prospective students. But the Web site is just one component of a larger University-wide initiative to bring focus and clarity to the University’s vision to be a great private university dedicated to the public good.
“This effort is intended to be a logical extension of our vision, values, mission and goals statements, one that further clarifies them for the University Community and gives them voice for a much broader audience,” Chancellor Robert Coombe wrote in an August memo to deans and administrators. The University’s reputation is defined, he said, by “examples of the impact of the lives of our alumni, the importance of our scholarship, the relevance of the institution to the improvement of our society.”
“Our goal is to develop greater visibility for DU as an action leader, as an institution that proactively addresses the great issues of our day,” Coombe wrote. “We need to tell our story well, with many examples.”
The strategy calls for the University to focus its internal and external communication on DU’s efforts to improve the human condition. The University community has the opportunity to validate DU’s “action leadership” with DU Something 365, a page on the new Web site dedicated to sharing stories about the research, scholarly, service and creative endeavors that provide tangible proof of DU’s positive impact on the world. Students, faculty, staff and alumni are invited to submit their own stories and photos directly to DU Something 365 by clicking on the “Submit your story” button. Those submissions will also be routed for possible use on DU Today or in other campus publications.
The action-leadership message also is on display in new campus light-pole banners that highlight some of the many ways students and faculty are “DU-ing something” to improve the human condition. Banner themes — which are intended to provoke thought, discussion and action — include “Raising our Voices,” “Harvesting Water,” “Turning Micro Macro” and “Stimulating Debate.” Stories related to the banners appear on DU Today, DU365 and elsewhere on the DU Web site.
“It’s critical for DU to differentiate itself in a competitive marketplace,” says Carol Farnsworth, vice chancellor for University Communications. “This initiative, including the new Web site, will emphasize what is distinctive about DU: our commitment to improving the human condition, our emphasis on gaining a global perspective, and our bias for action. That will raise our visibility nationally and internationally, helping us recruit and retain the best faculty and students and supporting our alumni relations and fundraising activities as well.”