Communication

Bringing Iowa’s story to life within and beyond the university.

Communication plays a crucial role in sharing the university’s story across campus and across the state and nation. Our team is dedicated to sharing that story with internal and external audiences.

External audiences

Our external communication team works to showcase the achievements and experiences of the Iowa community through storytelling. This is done by highlighting the wide variety of unique stories and experiences that authentically reflect the identity and values of the University of Iowa. In doing so, we work to build an affinity among our audiences and motivate them to actively engage with the university. Our impact extends beyond stories.uiowa.edu, as we work to inspire our campus community through these written narratives.

Internal audiences

Our internal communication team provides support and strategy to help campus partners effectively communicate with faculty, staff, and students. We also communicate regularly with the university’s internal audiences—faculty, staff, students, and parents.

Internal communication is the key to creating and fostering positivity, productivity, and building trust among faculty, staff, and students. Sharing timely news and information with internal audiences creates an environment where our employees want to work and where our students find success.

The Office of Strategic Communication (OSC) celebrates peer-reviewed research results—from business to the humanities to the sciences—and welcomes the opportunity to work with you to help publicize your findings.

We use many strategies to highlight published research. These can include a written story (also called a news release), media pitch, media availability, photography, video, or social-media post.

We have created these guidelines below as a quick reference for working with OSC to tell your story. Contact us at OSC-ResearchRequest@uiowa.edu to share a research result.

Published Research Guidelines

Iowa Now publishes the latest news and information about the university and its people, as well as news you can use—information that is helpful to you as an employee or as a person.

Ideal stories might:

Advance and reflect the university’s missions
Showcase what makes Iowa great—strong academics, impact across the state and beyond, a distinctive campus culture
Appeal to faculty and staff
Present opportunities for strong visual elements, such as photos and video

Iowa Now emails are a curated list of timely and important news and information sent weekly (each Thursday) to all faculty and staff.

If you have an item you’d like us to consider sharing in an upcoming email, contact us using the webform below.

While Iowa Now emails are not a vehicle for promoting campus events, we will consider sharing an event using these criteria:

Reflects the university’s strategic priorities (for example, DEI Heritage Month events)
Represents an area of distinction for the university (for example, writing or neuroscience)
Has broad appeal to faculty and staff
Enhances the university’s reputation in an engaging, informative, and representative way (for example, the annual Presidential Lecture or Lecture Committee series)
Is designed for large attendance (for example, will take place in a large auditorium or venue)
Does not displace other critical, timely content that must be shared

We can help with

Reviewing and refining your message and content to launch a significant initiative within your college or unit.
Sharing best practices for communicating internally about an initiative.
Connecting you to other internal communications experts on campus.
Coaching and preparation on what to do when an internal initiative becomes external.
Sharing information in an upcoming IowaNow email to faculty, staff, students, or parents.
Highlighting a wide range of stories that showcase Iowa's achievements, remarkable endeavors, and the spirit of our campus community through engaging narrative pieces.

Internal communication support

OSC supports campus communicators in a variety of ways. Learn how we can help.

Messaging to launch new initiatives

As you prepare to launch a new initiative or make an important announcement, we can offer feedback and help you refine your messages to internal audiences. Our goal is to ensure effective communication and engagement with your target audience.

Communication plan review

We're here to discuss the rollout of your communications plan for a major initiative, covering timing for key messages and the most effective communication platforms to reach faculty, staff, and students.

Content review and creation

We can assist with content review while also ensuring your message has the appropriate clarity, tone, and style. Early draft submission is preferred, and we also offer content creation resources in alignment with institutional initiatives.

IowaNow website and emails

We can feature your news, information, or resources on IowaNow, a website that serves as a resource for faculty and staff. We also send regular emails to faculty, students and parents. Share your college or department updates with us for potential inclusion.