Continued: Advancement Division reports

University Communications

A transition in University Communications leadership has not deterred the office from continuing to function at a high level. The staff provided public relations counsel, communications planning, publications services and media relations for high profile events, university initiatives, current issues and the Comprehensive Campaign.

Events included three major lawsuits and other legal actions, Title IX (Florez) hearings in Sacramento, the Shuttle Columbia five-year anniversary, the B-1B Lancer flyover at Bulldog stadium, the solar parking project unveiling and the Lt. Governor’s visit for the Virginia Tech one-year memorial service. Issues covered included proposed state budget cuts, Campus Pointe, Chestnut Avenue project delays and student fee increases.

Proactive communication efforts have highlighted the new Henry Madden Library, major developments in the campus Master Plan, the Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market dedication and numerous product/event stories. The office provided PR support for the Best of Fresno Awards event and prepared for President’s addresses to the campus community at fall and spring faculty/staff assemblies.

Office accomplishments included the following:

• Provided public relations counsel to the President, the Cabinet and other managers; conducted media/communication training sessions for university staff to improve their ability to convey key messages to mass media and internal audiences.
• Placed positive campus stories with national media, such as The Chronicle of Higher Education, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN Money, Diverse Education magazine, Architectural News magazine and National Public Radio; international coverage included India Post, AllAfrica.com, Courier Mail (Australia) and FreshPlaza (The Netherlands). Numerous placements were in regional and local outlets, which advance the strategic goals of the university.
• Prepared speeches and message points for the President and other senior campus officials to aid in the communication of critical campus messages. Sought out and coordinated several speaking engagements for the President, key administrators and faculty.
• Took a lead role in campus-wide planning for emergency communication initiatives. With the Administrative Services Division, revised and revamped emergency communications plans and procedures.
• Expanded distribution of the fall 2007 Fresno State Magazine to 131,000 copies. Spring 2008 distribution was 71,000. This year Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) presented the magazine its Award of Excellence among other awards received for projects produced by our staff.
• Updated to a faster, more secure private hosting server for FresnoStateNews.com, which continues to be the leading source of university news. The site continued to generate media contacts to the news office from around the globe. Use of the site continues to grow and averages 4,000 views per day. Recent per-day figures have topped 9,000. (In April 2008 alone we had a total of 127,869 visitors.) Roughly half the average daily visits are on-campus users.
• Created and launched the Web site for University Advancement and the e-Advocacy web site.
• Produced 175+ individual publications and new media projects. Provided design and policy control for university publications to ensure consistency of branding and marketing across the various enterprises of the university. Major projects included the Provost’s calendar, First Generation booklet, Iacobellis/Engineering materials, View Book and Commencement programs and ancillary publications.
• Completed several projects for the Bulldog Foundation, as well as for each of the eight schools and colleges and Graduate Studies. Designed and produced the faculty and staff telephone directories, both on the Web and in print, and updated the online Standards for Graphics and Communications manual.
• Provided increased communications support for the Comprehensive Campaign, maintained the new campaign Web site and promoted the campaign by including interactive campaign content in Web sites across the campus. Provided writing and design support for numerous development projects and created a number of original videos and multimedia presentations to support campaign efforts and the Alumni Association. Wrote or edited funding proposals and celebrated gifts received through events or media activities.
• Promoted the “Fresno State - Powering the New California” theme in speeches, the Web, printed materials, campaign materials and especially in our first major advertising effort. Campaign Communications staff created:
  • 41 newspaper ads which ran in The Fresno Bee (16,408,200 readership impressions)
  • 40 different radio spots that aired on various radio stations, including KMJ, KVPR and KSKS (53,762,920 listener impressions)
  • Four different television commercials that aired 986 times on local and cable stations (9,055,576 viewer impressions). In addition, the TV spots were provided to the Athletics Department, which showed them at sporting events and had them aired during televised athletic events, many of them nationally.
• With the addition of a director of governmental relations, reconvened the Ambassadors for Higher Education and more effectively coordinated advocacy activities, including lobbying efforts in Sacramento, CSU Legislative Day, Alumni Day, and various meetings with legislators.
• Assisted the President in correspondence with local, state and national representatives on issues of concern to Fresno State and directed the university’s participation in the CSU’s “No on Proposition 92” joint Chamber of Commerce-education press conference.
• With Advancement Services, completed implementation of the CSU e-Advocacy plan and sent four e-mail communications to Valley legislators, university ambassadors, donors, potential donors and friends of Fresno State.

Alumni Relations

The Fresno State Alumni Association had an active and productive year.  Among the accomplishments were these:

• Brought Alumni Board Members “in the know” on the Comprehensive Campaign through presentations on Tier One Projects at all board meetings, resulting in a Campaign for the Alumni Board to celebrate 100 Years with 100% Participation and raise $100,000.
• Branded the Alumni Association with the community by participating as the charity recipient for Fresno Magazine’s Best of Fresno Event; raised over $12,000 for student scholarships in one night.
• Kicked off our Life Membership Campaign, resulting in 106 new members and $52,800 to date.
• Renewed contract as the Presenting Sponsor for Bulldog Boulevard and had six alumni member hospitality tailgates at home football games.
• Hired an Alumni Outreach Programs Administrator (Katie Johnson) to maintain the Web site and assist with communication with students and alumni.
• Launched the new updated website at fresnostatealumni.com and Fresno State InCircle, our new online social networking community.
• Re-invigorated the student alumni association and changed the name to PAWS (Partnering Alumni with Students). They successfully began their TASTE program (Take A Student to Eat).
• Updated the award-winning electronic newsletter Bulldog Byte with a brand new banner and new sections including Entrepreneur Spotlight and Bulldog Pride.
• Held first young alumni event co-branded with Fresno Leading Young Professionals (FLYP) with over 100 attendees.
• Partnered with University Outreach to engage alumni in their Out of Area Receptions for incoming students in Bakersfield, Santa Maria, Modesto, Salinas and Gilroy.
• Initiated preliminary discussions with Visalia alumni to create a chapter.

University Development

All of University Development—development directors in campus units, Advancement Services staff and others in the central office—were focused on the Comprehensive Campaign. The very label “comprehensive” means that everything counts, and both back-office and front-line staff are essential contributors to the effort, as are university and volunteer partners. Here are a few highlights from the year.

Development:

• Worked with university leaders and volunteers to move ahead on annual and campaign fundraising, i.e., met with prospective donors, prepared informational materials, submitted proposals, clarified goals.
• Continued best practices such as automated pledge reminders, regular progress reports, efficient receipting from the Advance database and use of “advhelp” to track and prioritize data requests.
• Created, produced and held stewardship and cultivation events, namely the Pinnacle Dinner, Donor Recognition Event, President’s Forum, online Honor Roll, Roundtables.
• Added to Heritage Society membership and convened the Planned Giving Advisory Committee.
• Updated and refined the Policy and Procedures Manual.
• Contracted with RuffaloCODY to launch the new annual fund Call Center and completed a first year of calling.
• Held the second annual IAMFRESNOSTATE contest, which won two CASE awards, one Addy award and one PRSA award. 
• Loaded endowment information into Advance and produced new endowment reports for donors/stewards.

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