University Marketing & Communications

Who we are

University Marketing & Communications (UMC) is a staff of 19 in Millwright Hall led by executive director Sylvie Dahl, who reports to the chancellor and sits on the cabinet. UMC tells Porter’s story to prospective students, alumni, reporters and the region, and keeps everyone else’s version of that story recognizably the same university.

News and the magazine

Campus news is posted at news and sent as a weekly digest to faculty and staff on Monday mornings. To suggest a story, email news@uwporterfalls.edu at least two weeks before the thing happens; we cover outcomes and people more readily than announcements of meetings.

Porter Falls Magazine is mailed twice a year to about 52,000 alumni and friends; the fall 2026 issue is out now. Class notes are submitted through the magazine site. The student newspaper is editorially independent and has nothing to do with us — see the student newspaper page.

Brand, web and social media

The logo, the gold “P”, the navy and gold palette, the typefaces and the rules for co-branding with an employer are in the brand and visual identity guidelines. Anything sold with the marks on it goes through trademark and logo licensing, not UMC.

• Web: departments edit their own pages after a two-hour training; Web & Digital handles new sections, redirects and anything on the home page.
• Social media: a new official account needs two named staff administrators and a posting plan. Accounts dormant for six months are archived.
• Accessibility: every page and PDF must meet the standards on the digital accessibility page. We will not publish a scanned flyer as a PDF.

Media, photo and video requests

Reporters should call (715) 555–0190 or email news@uwporterfalls.edu; the full guidance is on media relations, and experts by topic are on the faculty experts page. Faculty and staff contacted by a reporter are free to talk about their expertise; a heads-up to UMC is appreciated, not required.

Photo and video: submit the request form in MyPorter at least 15 business days ahead. We prioritize recruitment, the magazine and events the chancellor attends. A one-hour shoot is free to campus units; video production beyond a 90-second piece is charged at cost. Headshots are taken on the second Wednesday of each month in Millwright Hall 214, no appointment.

Emergency communications

In an emergency, Campus Safety sends the first alert; UMC follows within 30 minutes with the home-page banner, social posts and updates every hour until the all-clear. Porter Alert texts go to every student and employee number in MyPorter, and anyone else can opt in on the alert sign-up page. Weather closings are decided by the vice chancellor for finance and operations and posted by 5:30 a.m. (how closings work). A UMC staff member is on call every night for this purpose and for nothing else.

How long things take

UMC works on about 1,400 requests a year with 19 people, so lead time matters more than the urgency in the subject line.

Departments that do a lot of their own design work can ask for a one-hour brand review instead of a full project; most posters clear that review the same week.