College Presidents Slow To Launch Informal Web Format
Politicians do it. Taxpayers do it. Of course, journalists do it. But college presidents … well … not so much.
Those who do are considered pioneers in the rapidly growing blogosphere. Count presidents of the University of Connecticut and Wesleyan University among them.
At last count, there were 31 college presidents throughout the nation with blogs, according to Bob Johnson, president of Bob Johnson Consulting in Michigan.
And despite the concern of many university communications professionals who fear unfiltered blogging might create a public relations’ crisis, college presidents continue to join the ranks of bloggers.
Seasoned Blogger
UConn’s new president, Michael Hogan, is a seasoned blogger, having launched a blog while serving as executive vice president and provost at the University of Iowa. Shortly after arriving at UConn, he started up another one.
“I had big-time success with the blog at Iowa and the students and faculty really loved it,” he said. “I don’t use the blog to post lectures or sermons. I use it mostly for celebration and to make announcements.”
According to Johnson, only four presidents of state universities have blogs, as most presidents that do are from small, private universities.
So far, Hogan’s blog has been mostly used to champion the efforts of students, such as a group of 50-plus students heading to Biloxi, Miss. for a hurricane-relief trip, or praising certain faculty members for their achievements.
It is also being used as an interactive communication tool. “We have it out there and it’s available for people to leave comments,” Hogan said. “I try to comment back, but not everyone is going to get a response, so it’s not totally interactive but it’s something.”
Hogan’s blog also focuses on serious issues, such as Hogan’s reasons for cancelling the winter commencement ceremony due to a winter storm. He also posted the entire transcript of an e-mail interview with a reporter for UConn’s student-run Daily Campus.
While Hogan does not want the blog to be an entirely serious forum, it will be used for that purpose when necessary. “I want it to be fun, but I will post some important announcements,” he said. “For the issue of the commencement, it was something where we were trying to get the word out across every forum we could.”
Hogan hopes to post more frequently and post more pictures of UConn events. However, UConn’s communications team is not actively pushing the blog out to the forefront. “We’re not really advertising it. We’re just putting it out there and letting it spread by word of mouth,” Hogan said.
Reasons Vary
Wesleyan University President Michael Roth also writes a blog, entitled Roth on Wesleyan, and it began in a similar manner to Hogan’s. Roth started his blog in August, just about a month after he was named president on July 1.
Roth’s blog is similar to Hogan’s, in that it mentions events, but differs slightly in that Roth offers musings about Wesleyan’s direction and his goals for, say, the upcoming semester.
Some college presidents have not started up their own blog because they are too busy. Take Walter Harrison, president of University of Hartford, who “certainly could” but is prevented because of time-consuming commitments, said Dave Isgur, UHart’s director of media relations.
“[Harrison] is a very good writer but the biggest issue would be time,” Isgur said. “He definitely communicates with the students and faculty through other vehicles.”
At Trinity College, President James F. Jones Jr. doesn’t have a blog, but does write a weekly column for the student newspaper that can be found online with the ability for readers to leave comments.
Michele Jacklin, Trinity’s director of media relations, said she doesn’t read the columns beforehand.
“He writes the column and, as far as I’m concerned, he’s the top dog at this college,” she said. “I wouldn’t be concerned. He can say what he wants to say.”
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