Communication & Marketing

What We Do

Communication plays a vital role in driving NU goals and maintaining engagement with key stakeholders. Ultimately, the work of the University of Nebraska Communication, Marketing and PR teams create positive perceptions and deepen understanding of the university's mission and contributions.

The communication experts on the NU Communication, Marketing and PR teams perform functions such as:

Legislative-directed communication
Website content and design
Social media
Internal communication
Leadership communication
Recruitment marketing
Sponsorship strategy and management
Advertising (print, digital and outdoor)

Market research
Brand development and management
Earned media placement and publicity
Media relations
Crisis and issues management
Event planning and management
Community relations
Photography and videography

What’s Happening Now

As we look for smarter ways to invest communication dollars, the Communication BRT is developing university-wide guidelines for printing and promotional items. The guidelines will share best practices when it comes to communication purchases, and help ensure communication and marketing dollars are spent strategically across the institution.

The Communication BRT is seeking faculty and staff input and discussion before the guidelines are created. Following this feedback period, a draft guideline document will be created and shared.

Communication BRT team members will conduct listening sessions on each campus to discuss unit and departmental needs, solicit input on potential directions and answer questions. All members of the university community are welcome, but the team would like to encourage attendance by those in the following groups of people:

College communicators
Extension communicators and staff
Recruiting and admissions staff
Financial staff
Global engagement staff
Other staff who direct, spend or manage money that is used on printing and promotional items

The sessions will be held the week of Feb. 19. They will be moderated by Jackie Ostrowicki, Assistant Vice President for University Affairs and chair of the Communication BRT, and will be hosted by each campus Chief Communication Officer. A delegate from the procurement and printing BRT teams also will attend each campus session.

Session dates and times are as follows:

University of Nebraska at Omaha
Tuesday, February 20th, 10:30-11:30 a.m
Milo Bail Student Center, Nebraska Room
Campus Host: Erin Owen, Executive Director of University Communications and Assistant to the Chancellor, UNO

University of Nebraska Medical Center
Tuesday, February 20th, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Sorrell Center, Room 2014
Campus Host: Bill O’Neill, Public Relations Director, UNMC

University of Nebraska at Kearney
Wednesday, February 21st, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Ockinga Auditorium
Campus Host: Kelly Bartling, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Communications and Community Relations, UNK

University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Thursday, February 22st, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Sheldon Museum of Art Auditorium
Campus Host: David Fitzgibbon, Interim Director of University Communication, UNL

Please email communication@nebraska.edu with questions on the session or to get more information. Faculty and staff are also invited to submit feedback electronically to the BRT Communication Team Chair, Jackie Ostrowicki, at jostrowicki@nebraska.edu, or Marjorie Kostelnik, senior associate to the president who is leading implementation of the BRT strategies, at mkostelnik@nebraska.edu.

Cost Savings and Strategies

The Communication BRT recommendations centered around rethinking the purpose of the function and transforming operations, sharpening our focus on activity that furthers NU’s goals, and thinking more creatively across campuses about how we share services and costs, grow revenue, and structure our organization to deliver unified messages.

We anticipate approximately $630 thousand in cost savings through the following strategies developed by the Communication, Marketing & Public Relations BRT team. These strategies have been approved by the President and Chancellors.

The Communication BRT has two strategies. The first strategy better aligns communication operations and professionals at each campus, which will strengthen the brand of each campus within the NU system. The second strategy reduces overall marketing spend and looks for smarter ways to invest the dollars that we have.

When implemented, these strategies will create stronger communication integration on two levels: 1) at the campus level with colleges and units, and 2) across the university system, among campuses. For more detailed information, see the document below.

Communication BRT Strategies (rev. September 12, 2017)

Implementation Team Members

PR/Communication/Marketing Implementation Team Chairs

Jackie Ostrowicki, UNCA (Chair)

PR/Communication/Marketing Implementation Team Members

Kelly Bartling, UNK
Erin Owen, UNO
Bill O'Neill, UNMC
Melissa Lee, UNCA
Amber Williams, UNL
David Fitzgibbon, UNL
Jason Buzzell, UNO
Karen Burbach, UNMC
Ashley Robinson, UNCA
Stephanie Pirruccello, UNCA