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UConn President Uses Blog To Communicate With Students, Community
Madeline Ward
Issue date: 2/8/08 Section: News
President Michael Hogan has joined the blogging community with "Pres Release," a blog that provides everything from photographs chronicling the spring training week to responses to Daily Campus editorials.
Hogan's history goes all the way back to his previous position as the provost at the University of Iowa.
"I found it a good way to communicate with faculty, staff and students without bombarding them with mass e-mails," he said in an e-mail interview. "And I could also post thank-you's and appreciations recognizing people on campus who had done something outstanding, whether it was a teaching or research accomplishment, a student initiative, reaching a personal goal or overcoming adversity."
Students can see the blog at blogs.uconn.edu/president.
"It was just an idea I had one day," he said of starting the blog. "When someone was talking about all the blogging activity that was starting up with faculty and students on campus. It occurred to me when I was at the University of Iowa that it would be a great way for me as the Provost to be more accessible, more direct in my communication with the university community.
"It's not meant to replace official communications that a president or provost must issue from time to time. Instead it's an addition to how I'm able to talk with UConn's constituents in a modern, informal and more personal way."
Like in most presidential offices, it's not just a one man show. Stephen Rhodes, executive assistant to the president, said that he worked for Hogan since he was a provost at University of Iowa and had in fact traveled to UConn to serve as his right hand man.
"I helped him develop his blog page," Rhodes said. "Mike's blog is really a kind of a one-way blog, in that it's not a Web site where anyone can go and post comments for everyone to read. Mike does have a link on his blog page where anyone can send him an email and he tries to respond to them. And sometimes he posts a response he receives. I help him with technical issues in posting the blog and with finding and scanning photographs which he likes to use."
Hogan's history goes all the way back to his previous position as the provost at the University of Iowa.
"I found it a good way to communicate with faculty, staff and students without bombarding them with mass e-mails," he said in an e-mail interview. "And I could also post thank-you's and appreciations recognizing people on campus who had done something outstanding, whether it was a teaching or research accomplishment, a student initiative, reaching a personal goal or overcoming adversity."
Students can see the blog at blogs.uconn.edu/president.
"It was just an idea I had one day," he said of starting the blog. "When someone was talking about all the blogging activity that was starting up with faculty and students on campus. It occurred to me when I was at the University of Iowa that it would be a great way for me as the Provost to be more accessible, more direct in my communication with the university community.
"It's not meant to replace official communications that a president or provost must issue from time to time. Instead it's an addition to how I'm able to talk with UConn's constituents in a modern, informal and more personal way."
Like in most presidential offices, it's not just a one man show. Stephen Rhodes, executive assistant to the president, said that he worked for Hogan since he was a provost at University of Iowa and had in fact traveled to UConn to serve as his right hand man.
"I helped him develop his blog page," Rhodes said. "Mike's blog is really a kind of a one-way blog, in that it's not a Web site where anyone can go and post comments for everyone to read. Mike does have a link on his blog page where anyone can send him an email and he tries to respond to them. And sometimes he posts a response he receives. I help him with technical issues in posting the blog and with finding and scanning photographs which he likes to use."
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