UO launches web news and information portal for faculty/staff

The University of Oregon has a comprehensive new gadget in its communications tool kit.

AroundtheO is intended to serve as the primary vehicle for internal communications with UO faculty, staff and the campus community. It will provide real-time news and information about the university.

AroundtheO is a dynamic news portal that will be updated as news and information becomes available – daily, hourly and even minute-by-minute. Faculty and staff are encouraged to make it their default home page and check in each morning – and throughout the day – to keep abreast of the latest UO-related developments.

An “O Blog” of informational snippets will keep readers up-to-date with everything from emergency alerts and notifications of late-breaking events on campus to comments or clarifications on news about the UO. A live Twitter feed will serve as a news ticker for any and all updates involving the university or its employees.

Other tools readers may find handy include links to the UO’s “Find People” page, DuckWeb, UO Alert  and Blackboard.

AroundtheO will also help to reduce web and e-mail clutter on campus by consolidating news from several key “message partners” whose functions and communications are essential to all faculty and staff. The initial list of message partners is made up of the President’s Office, Provost’s Office, Faculty Senate, Academic Affairs, UO Police Department, Human Resources and Public and Government Affairs.  

The website will retain many of the most popular features of its predecessor, Inside Oregon (which was published twice monthly), and will add many new offerings and services. New video interviews with faculty members – in the on-going “A couple minutes with” series – will be added monthly to AroundtheO, as will a list of “UO Introductions” to the university’s newest hires. Other holdover features include “UO Abroad” question-and-answer interviews with faculty or staff serving outside the U.S.; “Duck Tales” slice-of-life vignettes; and free classified ads to serve the UO community.

New to the AroundtheO palette will be “Teach & Learn” question-and-answer interviews with well-regarded faculty members and their students; “In Print” stories about newly-published books from the UO community; “Happenings” feature stories about UO entertainment and entertainers; and “First Class” profiles of interesting new courses at the university.

All regularly-appearing features, old and new, will be sprinkled among a continuous stream of stories – from news briefs to in-depth reports – about the UO and those who make up the campus community.

The website also includes a list of links to stories about upcoming events on campus and a list of externally-focused UO news stories - reports about the UO by media from around the world, as well as news releases from the university.

As a dynamic portal that aims to serve the needs of its readers – faculty, staff and the UO community – AroundtheO is also open to feedback and suggestions. Thoughts or story ideas? Send them to us at around@uoregon.edu.