Office of Communications Annual Report, 2024-2025
The 2024-2025 academic year was another successful year for the Neag School overall, providing numerous opportunities for Neag Communications to amplify the work of faculty, staff, students, and alumni. In particular, this past academic year, Neag Communications supported promotion of new initiatives like the Morris and Judy Sarna Breaking Bias & Creating Community Program, contributed to recruitment marketing efforts for programs in need, and continued to elevate the Neag School’s reputation with our various stakeholders.
News Writing & Media Relations
Strategic Storytelling
In 2024-2025, Neag Communications continued to focus on creating compelling narratives and ensuring they effectively reached target audiences. This included leveraging University platforms, like UConn Today, as well as expanding the School’s reach through external media engagement. By continuing to cultivate relationships with local, national, and international news organizations; collaborating closely with University Communications; and proactively connecting faculty and content with journalists, Neag Communications continued to extend the School’s impact.
UConn Today
The University’s flagship news platform continues to be a powerful tool for showcasing the Neag School’s successes. By maintaining a strong presence on our Neag School page and the homepage, Neag Communications continued to expand the School’s reach with stories that span all departments and programs. This consistent publication of content and an audience that extends beyond campus helps us engage University leadership, industry partners, state policymakers, prospective students, and Connecticut citizens — all of whom are critical audiences as the Neag School navigates ever-evolving needs and priorities. Performance statistics for Neag School stories on UConn Today for 2024-2025 are below.
Top Stories
109K
views
91
stories published
25
stories on UConn Today homepage
In the Media
In 2024-2025, Neag School faculty experts, research centers, alumni, departments, and students received coverage in news outlets worldwide, including more than a dozen national media outlets, and more than 45 different local news outlets, blogs, specialty websites, and University media. The Neag School of Education and its faculty were mentioned in the media approximately 170 times throughout the 2024-25 academic year.
170
mentions in
60+
media outlets
Websites
A robust digital presence is essential for visibility, credibility, and engagement, making highly visual and well-organized websites a cornerstone of the Neag School’s communications strategy. Since 2022-2023, Neag Communications has gradually been updating the most outdated websites within the School’s web portfolio, as well as the highest priority program-specific websites that are vital to the recruitment of prospective students. In 2024-2025, Neag Communications facilitated the redesign of the HESA program website, which included a rebranding to the Higher Education Programs. A landing page was also created for certification information for all students and areas of study. The new Office of Communications website also launched in summer 2024 and serves as a resource for all Neag School faculty and staff.
Looking ahead to 2025-2026, an emphasis will be placed on ensuring the Neag School’s websites meet the updated Title II accessibility requirements. This will be a high priority for Neag Communications, in order to meet the federal government’s April 2026 deadline. This project will also be a kicking off point to further website redesign work.
Neag School Website Analytics
241,148
pageviews
105,574
users
164,642
sessions
Key Web Projects
Social Media
In 2024-2025, social media remained a critical component of the Neag School’s digital strategy, serving as a way to engage diverse audiences where they already are. From alumni and prospective undergraduate students scrolling Instagram to prospective graduate students on LinkedIn, each platform offers a unique opportunity to connect with specific audiences. We leveraged these platforms to reinforce our brand identity and foster engagement.
Cross-Channel Performance
- 1,289 Posts
- 14,629 Followers
- 645,325 Impressions
- 50,744 Engagement
- Top Post: Instagram: Congratulations to the Neag School of Education Class of 2025! What a wonderful morning celebrating all of you and all the moms and mother figures! We're so proud and can't wait to see where your journeys take you. You may no longer be Students Today, but will always be Huskies Forever! #UConn25 (9,790 impressions, 593 engagements)
- 374 Posts
- 2,965 Followers (+16.4%)
- 16,213 Engagements (content interactions and link clicks)
- Top Post: Congratulations to the Neag School of Education Class of 2025! What a wonderful morning celebrating all of you and all the moms and mother figures! We're so proud and can't wait to see where your journeys take you. You may no longer be Students Today, but will always be Huskies Forever! #UConn25 (593 engagements)
- 327 Posts
- 4,823 Followers (+5.5%)
- 17,079 Engagements
- Top Post: Congratulations to the Neag School of Education Class of 2025! What a wonderful morning celebrating all of you and all the moms and mother figures! We're so proud and can't wait to see where your journeys take you. You may no longer be Students Today, but will always be Huskies Forever! #UConn25 (753 engagements)
- 332 Posts
- 2,105 Followers (+30.7%)
- 16,796 Engagements
- Top Post: The Sport Management Program in the Neag School of Education hosted the day-long 9th Annual Sport Business Conference last week in McHugh Hall at UConn Storrs. During the sold-out event, which featured 28 sports industry professionals from around the country, over 125 students enjoyed a fantastic day of connection and learning. Sponsors of the event included the UConn Sport Management Program, Gansett Wraps, Hartford Yard Goats, Haven Hot Chicken, and the Neag School of Education. (1,186 engagements)
Initiatives
Beyond traditional marketing and news functions, Neag Communications’ small team plays a vital role in amplifying initiatives across the School. By strategically applying storytelling, branding, and engagement strategies, we support efforts that align with the Neag School’s and University’s strategic priorities. From promoting targeted alumni and donor engagement with the Advancement Team to increasing awareness of specific academic programs, our team ensures key initiatives reach the right audiences in meaningful ways. By crafting compelling narratives around research and community partnerships, we showcase the Neag School’s impact beyond campus. Through collaboration and creative problem-solving, we extend the influence of the Neag School’s communications and marketing beyond the Dean’s Suite, adding measurable value to initiatives that shape the School and aid in University progress.
Student Recruitment
Neag Communications continued to provide broad support to the School’s three departments, as well as targeted resources and guidance to programs in the most need in 2024-2025. By recommending strategic tactics aligned with best practice, Neag Communications bolstered departmental engagement efforts and university-wide recruitment initiatives with:
- Strategic planning support, including helping several programs launch and maintain effective social media channels
- Print and digital promotional materials at the School and program level
- Content strategy to improve SEO
- Photo and video production
Alumni and Donor Engagement
Neag Communications provides important support as part of the Advancement Team. From connecting with alums and current or potential donors to showcasing their commitment to the School, we aim to highlight their ongoing commitment to the Neag School and inspire others to be active members of our community. Aligning with the UConn Foundation’s priorities, we leverage several channels, initiatives, and strategies to keep these connections strong:
- School and program alumni emails and newsletters
- Event promotion support, specifically for events such as the Scholarship Celebration, Alumni Awards, and UConn Gives
- Design and messaging support for targeted initiatives
- Coordinated UConn Today coverage
Priorities for 2025-2026
In 2025-2026, Neag Communications will continue to focus on adapting and responding to changing needs.
At UConn, there are significant changes on the horizon for the University’s digital presence. First, the requirements related to accessibility and ADA compliance will require significant effort from staff and faculty who manage websites. That effort will also need to be sustained in the future, so Neag Communications is working with University Communications and ITS on developing resources to navigate these changes.
Led by ITS, changes to the University’s approved web platform, Aurora WordPress, are also underway. As part of this transition, Neag Communications will begin to develop plans for a new parent website template. In an ongoing attempt to sync our design upgrades with the University’s platform changes, Neag Communications will continue to work with departments and units to upgrade their sites according to highest need.
Due to national events, being prepared to respond at a moment’s notice appears to have become the norm. Neag Communications will continue to be nimble and work with the Dean and the rest of the Neag School's Admin Council to ensure faculty and staff have the support they need to navigate unique situations, all while maintaining the School's and University’s reputation and mission.