Communications Committee

The Communication Committee coordinates electronic and print communication for the network. One of the committe's primary tasks is the Network website. While we  continue to change and re-think the website, we believe it is an exciting place for us to share information, network, organize, advocate, and collaborate.

To contact the Communications Chair,  Santiago Fernandez-Gimenez,  email: communications@mnlatinosinhighered.org.

Committee members:

Marc Peña, UMTC Law School

Steven Renderos, UMTC Chicano Studies 

Example of a Message Architecture

Once we have come to a common understanding of the essence of the organization, we can start plotting out how we deliver this essence to the segments of our audience that we identified in our "segmentation scheme." This single page is a simple representation that shows our overarching theme or promise, some foundational concepts (what the  organization means and what it is), and the way we are going to split out our messages to the different audiences. Here is where we start to get core talking points that we can use consistently in our communications to all the various publics we want to reach.

Example of Brand Genesis

Page 7-9 of this pdf shows briefly the process of pulling together the research garnered in the earlier phases of the exercise.  The first page is an "at a glance" view of our strategic situation, with a brief statement that characterizes the essence of our message : the "brand promise."  The second slide shows a bit of the rationale, and the third slide shows a "For...It's....That" statement.  This exercise is a challenge, but it helps us understand how we communicate the essence of our organization.

Example of Segmentation scheme

This segmentation scheme lists our organizational and operational goals, suggests a strategy for reaching those goals, and then offers a way of thinking about how to reach the communications audiences based on their needs.  In this case, I created segments based on the barriers that were keeping students from graduating from the University (our operational goal.)  MNLHE would probably use a different sort of segmentation scheme-- perhaps based on demographics, level of education, position in higher education, or something else related to our goals.

Example of a Strategy Canvas

Attached is a sample "Strategy Canvas" for the field of student services in higher education.  It compares 4 institutions on nine different characteristics. It shows how the University of Minnesota differentiates itself by offering a single source for complex student services information.

Communicating MNLHE goals - Developing an organizational "brand identity"

First response to your feedback :

I have attached a pdf of an initial run at a "strategy canvas" for the organization. Let me know if you think we've identified appropriate reference organizations, and if you think we are using the correct evaluative components.  I hope this is just a starting point for this portion of our organizational communications analysis.

Board Meeting minutes, 11-15-2008

Communications Committee Meeting Minutes, October 23, 2007

The Communications Committee met with Lisa Sass Zaragosa on October 23, 2007 at North Hennepin Community College. Find the minutes of our meeting attached to this blog post (MS Word File).

Message: We need content for Committee pages

Hi, All Committee Chairs

OK, we are about to go live with the site and we need the content you want for your committees. Please submit them to me, Deb Torres at : deb@mnlatinosinhighered.org. Thanks much! Here we go.  ~Deb

Tentative Communications Committee Meeting

Tentative meeting time to conduct more work on the website.

Communications Committee Meeting

Meeting to test and discuss website. Place: Liza's Office, Chicano Studies, U-MN