Welcome to the new CU Connections

Welcome to the new CU Connections.

With today’s relaunch, the systemwide site for faculty and staff news and information introduces a mobile-friendly Web platform. That means the home page, story pages and category pages will perform well whether you’re accessing the site on your desktop or laptop computer, or on a phone or tablet.

We’d also added features and increased the ways that members of the University of Colorado community may connect with one another across CU.

How do you like the new format? Tell us below.

The redesign follows months of development, with goals informed by reader surveys and input and involvement from faculty and staff governance.

Among the additions and improvements:

• Mobile-responsive design: Like cu.edu, CU Connections now boasts a display that recognizes and adjusts to the screen you’re using, be it a desktop, laptop, tablet or phone. Text, photos and other media on each page will automatically resize to make accessing content simple and swift. The weekly email – automatically delivered to all faculty and staff – also is redesigned to be responsive, providing easy reading and direct access to individual stories.
• Reader polls: Make your voice heard with a click by taking part in regular reader polls, where Connections will pose questions prompted by hot topics and issues around CU, Colorado and higher education. Watch for polls on the home page.
• Better commenting capability: Give instant feedback to posts with commenting powered by Disqus, the Web’s favorite discussion system. Read more about using Disqus on CU Connections here.
• New calendar: Keep tabs on events and happenings that matter to faculty and staff.
• Integrated campus content: CU Connections will continue to highlight news from across the campuses. Whenever possible, we’ll link directly to campus-based websites, where you can discover more of the news that’s important to you.
• Headlines from elsewhere: Besides continuing to provide original content and a digest of what’s going on within CU, CU Connections will point you toward relevant media postings from local, state and national news organizations.
• Twitter feed: Get a live look at social media activity across CU.
• Tailor your experience: Sample a wide array of news and information from the CU system and campuses, or quickly sort just the posts that interest you – by campus, peer group or story type.

Produced by University Relations in the Office of the President, CU Connections is entering its seventh academic year serving the faculty and staff of the university with news and information.

New content is posted throughout the week. New issues – collections of the previous week’s new stories – appear each Thursday, except over the winter and summer breaks, when they appear every other week. A weekly email reminder is sent on Thursday mornings to faculty and staff on all campuses. Because it is official university communication provided to faculty and staff with university email accounts, it is not a subscription service.

Our goal is to build community across the university. Content includes:

• Internal information vital or relevant to faculty and staff across campuses
• Reporting on external forces affecting the university
• Profiles and features exploring varied aspects of university life and the institution’s mission
• Recognition of the professional achievements of faculty and staff members
• Opinions from readers

Story ideas and submissions are welcome from current and retired CU faculty and staff. Not all submissions will be published; all are subject to editing for clarity, length, tone and style. Preference is given to material of systemwide interest and use.

News items must be submitted no later than noon Friday prior to Thursday publication. Inclusion of links to relevant Web pages is encouraged.

Letters to the editor always are welcome. Submit letters via this form. Or, if you prefer, email connections@cu.edu with letters for publication, or questions, suggestions and comments.

Material may also be emailed to the editor of Connections: Jay.Dedrick@cu.edu

Connections editor phone: 303-860-5707

Fax: 303-860-5610

Mailing address:

• Jay Dedrick
  CU Connections
  University Relations, Office of the President
  1800 Grant St., Suite 800
  Denver, CO 80203