Year of the Communicator Conference | The Benefits

You already know the
advantages of attending the Year of the Communicator conference on June 25,
2013, but you may need some help convincing your supervisor.

Here are some tangible benefits of
attending this year's UMCF conference:

1. It is affordable!

With airfare consistently on the rise, attending the conference means you won't
only save on airfare, but hotel and food costs as well. Plus if you
register before May 30, you receive the early bird discount.

2. Expand your professional network.

Because the conference is for communicators at the University, you expand your
professional network across campuses. We rarely get a break to talk with our
fellow colleagues and this is an excellent opportunity.

3. Keep up with the trends in the communications field and be
inspired by inspiring people.
This year's conference has two
keynote speakers that are industry leaders. Krista Neher is an expert on social
media and will be addressing how higher education institutions can make social
media work for us. Debra Frasier, author and illustrator, will help guide you
on your path of creativity, something every communicator needs.

4. Attend together as a teambuilding activity.

Attending the conference as a team means you can talk about which sessions will
provide you with the most skills and choose your tracks together. Creating a report for your supervisor about
the sessions you attend also helps outline what you learned. Then you can discuss your day at the reception, surrounded by inspiring art at the Katherine E. Nash Gallery.

5. Gain topic-specific experience.

The strategies, tools, and skills that you learn can be taken back to your
department and applied immediately. The conference offers you two keynote
speakers and three breakout sessions geared to give you the tools that you
need to be the best at what you do.

Don't delay and register today!

UMCF Member of the Year Profile: Jen Peters

Editor's note: To start off a new academic year on the blog, we decided to profile the 2012 UMCF Member of the Year, Jen Peters. Take notes, folks.

UMCF: What is your job title and department here at the U? How long have you worked there?

Jen Peters: Graphic designer at the University Libraries since September 2008 (4 years, 1 month).

UMCF: What's an average workday like?

JP: The majority of my day is spent in my office designing. I generally have at least five projects going at once, and produce them from concept to completion. I often start a project with a few quick sketches and typeface explorations before moving into InDesign. I often sort through images from the Libraries' archives and special collections and collaborate with our exhibits designer, Darren Terpstra. I work closely with the Communications Director finalizing text edits and creating and sending HTML emails.
 
UMCF: Favorite part of your workday?

JP: I love starting a new project, particularly brainstorming visual concepts and searching for the perfect typeface! I am fortunate to work with so much incredible art here at the Libraries such as these lovely seed catalogs.

UMCF: How does what you do support the mission of the University?

JP: We work to promote our vast resources which ultimately help expand the reach of research: our expert librarians, the millions of volumes held in our collections, tools to enhance productivity, and programs and services.

UMCF: Why did you join the Forum? What role does the Forum plan in your everyday work life?

JP: It was a big transition coming from an agency setting into my current position, working with only two other people. I joined to network and gain a better understanding of the communications work happening at the University.

I have learned so much by volunteering on the conference committee. I have been asked to help plan events at the Libraries as a result. Plus, it gave me a good excuse to approach potential speakers - designers and artists I admire.
 
UMCF: Where do you find creative inspiration?

JP: Design and photography blogs, any type of magazine, Pinterest, plus the incredible local art and design culture here in the Twin Cities.

UMCF: What are your hobbies outside of work?

JP: Riding bike, gardening, photography, skiing - anything outdoors!

UMCF: Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

JP: We (my husband and I) have a 15 year old music loving cat. When my husband plays guitar, she demands to be in the same room, sitting by his feet.
 

Where did all the communicators go?

What is it about communicators that make them seem so expendable to others? I mean, sometimes these communication specialists perform tirelessly to say the right thing at the right time to the right people. Yet, when it comes down to it, some people seem to think that, even without experience, they can do just as well. Not this person!

A good communicator has to convey something to some audience at a certain time and date in an exact way so that the message is clear, concise and appropriate. Not an easy task, if you ask me. People with degrees in communications and the like pursued them because of their passion for it, have a natural gift or both. They have honed their craft through years of training on how best to share any given message in any given circumstance. They use the right colors and graphics. Their words are chosen ever so carefully. Their sentence structure is impeccable. The message is clear. All combine to form a message that all can understand.

I marveled at a recent debate of late which was the discontinuation of the University Style Guide. I followed the discussion closely, respecting both sides of the argument. Frankly, I had never heard of this manual, but was impressed at the knowledge held by the professionals and their differing, but clear way of conveying each side of the debate. Please remember here that I am an Office Manager with a Bachelors of Music degree. I can chime in when motets, contrapuntal lines or Baroque is the topic. When it comes to the U Style Manual vs. AP vs. Chicago, I defer to the experts!

All debates aside, where do these people go when they are no longer deemed necessary? Who can adequately convey the message in their stead? I guess you can say this about any profession... career... trade that, hopefully, there are individuals around who were able to glean some skill set from the expert. After all, hasn't this been done for millennia? It's called apprenticeship. I wonder, though, if the communicators of old had interns at their disposal like carpenters, blacksmiths and seamstresses. Although, if the phrase "don't kill the messenger" is any indication of a communicator's fate, no wonder they were hard-pressed to find replacements!

I digress. Sorry. Having never been formally trained in writing or graphic design or communication, for that matter, I don't know if there is a term for my way of writing. I'm sure there is a fancy phrase that includes such words as "rambling" and "nonsense" and ...

Again, I digress. I guess that's what you get when I write at 2:00 a.m.

Being on the Communicators Forum board this past year has been so rewarding and enjoyable. I have marveled at how well everything seems to come together because, as communicators, everyone on the board and committees has this great passion for communicating effectively. As such, (most of the time), everyone involved in any given part of the program knows exactly what his or her part is! Remember, these are professional communicators! They COMMUNICATE!

I applaud each and every OFFICIAL communicator who continues to convey what needs to be said in the most appropriate of ways. Not being an official communicator, I still need to communicate both internally and externally. I have learned so much from the membership and board. Though I am not an apprentice, I only hope that I have gained some knowledge and developed some insight into what it takes to perform these all-important tasks of making sure people know what is going on and when!

I am proud to be a Communicators Forum member and encourage people - official communicators and not - to consider joining. For $40 per year, the value is unsurpassed. Programs, information sharing, networking... It's great!

I do not claim to be a communicator. I humbly and proudly defer to the experts. Thank you for your continued guidance.

Respectfully,
The one and only Non-Official Communicator on the Communicators Forum Board