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Alexander Freedman |
Elly Lewis |
As part of the CU Denver University Communications Transition Plan put in place by former Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications Marie Williams, Alexander Freedman officially transitioned from his marketing position in the Auraria Library to the Associate Director of Marketing and Communications position for CLAS on July 1, 2024.
Alex first joined the University of Colorado Denver in 2020 as the Head of Marketing and Communications for the Auraria Library. During his time at the library he completed a multi-year brand refresh, overhauled their internal and external communications strategy, and was published in the Marketing Libraries Journal for his COVID-19 marketing and communications work.
Now, Alex brings close to 15 years of marketing and communication expertise to develop smart marketing-centric strategies for CLAS in collaboration with college departments and University Communications.
A special thanks to Tracy Kohm and Michelle Comstock for coordinating a smooth leadership transition for CLAS Marketing and Communications. Most importantly, Alex is excited to partner with CLAS Marketing and Communications Specialist, Elly Lewis to further tell the story of the amazing work done by our students, faculty, and staff in CLAS.
CLAS MarCom 90-Day Action Plan Takes Effect Today
During his first two months, Alex conducted countless meetings with key MarCom stakeholders at both the college and University Communications level. From these conversations, a 90-Day Action Plan was developed to address immediate needs, while building the foundations for a stronger marketing and communications plan. This CLAS MarCom 90-Day Action Plan contains four key initiatives centered around reimagining, streamlining, fast-tracking, and collaborating.
Download the 90-Day Action Plan PDF
Reimagining Deans’ Notes
This digital publishing platform is widely used by CLAS faculty and staff for internal announcements and updates. CLAS MarCom sees an opportunity to reimagine Deans' Notes into a communication channel that can also be external, with an expanded audience to students and community members.
NEW: Deans’ Notes Submission Form and Dashboard
The first step in reimagining our Deans' Notes is this submission form. It is directly tied to CLAS MarCom's current project management software, meaning your submission is never buried in our inbox. This also creates the option for you to check on the status of your submission anytime via our dashboard below. MarCom will give your Note an editorial review but, otherwise, it will appear exactly as written via your submission. This gives you the opportunity to craft your announcement in a way that works best for you. Deans' Notes are published the first week of every month.
The deadline for a Deans' Notes submission is EOD the third Friday of every month. This allows us to build the next edition of Deans' Notes the last week of each month and publish it on time. Check the status of your Deans’ Note submission, who it’s been assigned to, and more via our dashboard below!
Deans Notes Submission Dashboard
Streamlining MarCom Service Requests
In the past, inquires inquiries for CLAS MarCom assistance emailed to Alex and/or Elly. By streamlining these service requests into a full project management workflow and software suite, CLAS MarCom will be able to appropriately manage bandwidth, evaluate turnaround times, and increase efficiency.
NEW: CLAS MarCom Service Request Form and Dashboard
This service form is the first step to help us judge our bandwidth and ensure timely completion of your future CLAS MarCom needs. Like the Deans’ Notes form, this will send your request directly into our project management system, ensuring it’s not buried in our inbox. Going forward, when needing CLAS MarCom services, please fill out this form first instead of emailing Alex or Elly. Check the status of your MarCom Service Request, who it’s been assigned to, and more via our dashboard! For general inquiries, please email: clasmarcom@ucdenver.edu
CLAS MarCom Service Request Form
CLAS MarCom Service Request Dashboard
Fast-Tracking / Crashing Long-Running Projects
Fast tracking and crashing are project management terms used to describe the process of working on multiple projects as once while also crashing all your resources into them. This process is used to quickly clear our projects to make way for new workflows and policies. This, in no way, is referencing a lack of quality or attention to detail for these projects; however, it reduces the bandwidth for CLAS MarCom to take on new projects during these 90 days. CLAS MarCom is using this process, as intended, to clear the way for new workflows and policies created by the other three initiatives listed in this action plan. Projects that align with this initiative will be notified by CLAS MarCom.
Exploring Collaborative Opportunities
As CLAS MarCom comes to better understand the limitations of our available bandwidth, we’ll be looking for smart collaboration opportunities that prevent duplicated work and harness enthusiasm found in others outside of CLAS MarCom. We’ll also be exploring how to collaborate with University Communications (UComm) and further harness their available bandwidth for major projects.
What Does This Mean to You and Your Fall 2024
During this 90-Day Action Plan, as we explore these initiatives around reimagining, streamlining, fast-tracking, and exploring, CLAS MarCom’s bandwidth will be reduced. This means we’ll be able to give minor assistance with marketing material creation and strategy development but strive to still be as supportive as possible. Expect most marketing campaigns to have a development start date of Spring 2025. Please submit a CLAS MarCom Service Request form before contacting CU Denver's University Communications, as CLAS MarCom is now your liaison between the college and UComm.
Furthermore, we’ll be asking these questions to ourselves and are always open to feedback from the CLAS community.
- How can we adjust our team’s scope to allow us to have the most impact?
- How can we invest in smart marketing strategies that push the needle?
- How do we tell a high-quality story and how often can we do it?
- How do we discover and utilize resources that inspire collaboration across CLAS and the university/UComm?
Post 90-Days | Next Steps
With the completion of this 90-Day Action Plan, CLAS MarCom will return to an increased bandwidth and begin the testing phase of our new workflows and policies during the Spring 2025 semester— offering CLAS members access to a suite of marketing and communication services.
Most importantly, CLAS MarCom will be outlining a full marketing and communications plan for AY 25-26. Again, thank you to everyone who has and is helping with the initiatives in this 90-Day Action Plan and other projects within CLAS MarCom.
For questions or feedback, please email: clasmarcom@ucdenver.edu or visit our website: https://clas.ucdenver.edu/about-us/deans-office/marketing-communication-staff