OVERVIEW
UBC’s Public Affairs Office, housed within the External Affairs Division’s
University Relations Department, is responsible for communicating UBC’s mission,
key messages, and values to both its internal community of students, faculty,
and staff, and to the broader external community which comprises multiple and
diverse audiences. Public Affairs co-ordinates programs and messages in concert
with other units of the External Affairs Division, UBC administration, faculties
and departments, and service units.
Programs are built on a layer of communications policies and practices, including
the Policy on Communications, approved by the Board of Governors in May
1994, which formally acknowledges UBC’s responsibility to keep its many communities
informed and ensure two-way dialogue. Programs are also built on the UBC
Communications Plan which was developed with widespread campus input and
designed to respond to the ever-changing environment in which UBC operates.
The plan’s five emphases are: critical issues management, public information
centre, internal communication, two-way communication, and external communication.
These emphases form the basis of Public Affairs’ workplans.
This office provides a comprehensive communications program directed toward
the campus community, the general public, government, the business community
and the media. The primary goals of the office are:
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to keep the campus community informed about developments in university
policies, its people, research, teaching, and events; -
to increase public understanding and support for UBC;
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to provide avenues for the on- and off-campus communities to communicate
with the university; -
to encourage public use of campus facilities and attractions;
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and, to promote interaction between the university and the private and
public sectors.
The office provides the news media with accurate and timely information about
research activities and other matters of public interest, and produces a wide
range of publications including the tabloid newspaper UBC Reports, Facts
and Figures, speeches, brochures, World Wide Web materials and fund-raising
communications materials. Staff also provide public and media relations counselling
and other communications services to UBC academic and administrative units.
Public Affairs staff also provide advice and strategic direction for critical
issues management.
1997/98 INITIATIVES AND ISSUES IN REVIEW
Several key initiatives and critical issues have been focal points for the
Public Affairs Office in 1997/98. Ongoing public issues, such as a proposal
to bring the Pacific Games 2001 to UBC, require strategic communications support
for internal and external audiences. In 1997/98, the following initiatives and
issues were at the forefront of UBC’s communications:
The landmark OCP–a critical university priority–was approved by UBC’s
Board of Governors and GVRD’s Board of Directors in the summer of 1997. The
development of the OCP received widespread public exposure at many levels, including
the campus community, GVRD community, activist groups, municipal and provincial
governments, and the media. UBC organized a series of community consultation
meetings for on- and off-campus stakeholders in April 1997, and provided communications
support in the form of media relations and news stories. Direct communications
with campus residents–notably Hampton Place residents–has been a priority.
Introduction of President Martha Piper
The introduction to the community of UBC’s 11th president,
Dr. Martha Piper, was a major focus of the Public Affairs Office in the fall
of 1997. Dr. Piper received widespread public attention through targeted news
stories in local, provincial and national media–through print, radio and television
interviews. The strategic placement of these stories established a profile of
UBC’s new president in the mind of the community and also set the stage for
the Visioning Process.
Research Awareness Campaign–“Think About It”
The UBC Research Awareness Campaign
was launched in October 1997 under the banner “Think About It – UBC Research.”
The mandate of the campaign is to raise awareness of, and support for, UBC research
among constituents on campus (students, faculty, staff, alumni) and off campus
(the general public, government and private sector). The campaign seeks to put
a human face on UBC research, highlight its diversity and linkages among disciplines
and illustrate their relevance to societal concerns. This has been achieved
through a variety of print, broadcast (radio) and merchandising initiatives,
as well as special events. A poll conducted in April 1998 showed 21 per cent
of British Columbians had heard or seen information incorporating the phrase
“Think About It – UBC Research.” The campaign committee is reviewing initiatives
to date with the goal of increasing participation among all campus constituents,
partners and friends off campus. The campaign has received two 1998 awards in
the Public Relations Projects category from the Council for Advancement and
Support of Education (CASE): a Bronze Award from CASE District VIII and a Silver
Award in the CASE Circle of Excellence Program open to schools, colleges and
universities throughout North America.
APEC ’97
The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting held at UBC
Nov. 25, 1997–and subsequent demonstrator and police actions–became an extremely
high-profile exposure of UBC to national and international audiences. Subsequent
investigations of the demonstrations focused intense public and media scrutiny
on UBC’s involvement with APEC, a scrutiny that will continue during public
hearings into APEC scheduled for September 1998.
Business-Education Partnerships
The introduction of new Business-Education Partnerships, or strategic
business partnerships, to campus raised some serious issues for consideration.
Campus consultation and communications were key parts of raising awareness and
support for two major partnerships which were finalized in 1997/98–in the financial
services and airlines/travel sectors.
UBC’s Vision consultation over the winter of 1997/98 has involved extensive
consultation with members of the university community, alumni, and the general
public. Public Affairs is working to position the university’s major goals in
local and provincial media to ensure that public feedback is elicited and responded
to. Consultation will continue throughout the summer of 1998 as the university
moves towards finalizing a Vision Statement in the fall of 1998.
COMMUNICATIONS VEHICLES
UBC utilizes a variety of means to communicate with–and hear from–its various
stakeholders. The major vehicles include:
UBC Reports
UBC’s main vehicle for communicating with its internal audience
on an ongoing basis is the bi-weekly tabloid UBC
Reports. Promoting the people of UBC–students, faculty and staff–and
their achievements in learning, research and service is a priority of the newspaper.
UBC Reports is published 21 times annually, with 12,000 copies distributed
on campus and 25,000 distributed to our neighbours in surrounding communities.
Media Relations
In 1997/98, the Public Affairs Office researched, wrote and released
168 news releases for media in the Lower Mainland,
BC and across the country. The focus of these releases included publicity regarding
on-campus events; updates on university policy; recognition of outstanding achievements
in teaching, research and service; and support of other major UBC initiatives.
Public Affairs staff also liaised directly with journalists to place UBC experts
in the public eye.
Public Information Centre
UBC’s Public Information Centre and information line, UBC-INFO
(822-4636), are housed in Cecil Green Park House. The centre is staffed on a
full-time basis and provides a wide range of information about UBC programs,
services and facilities, as well as offering directions to campus and information
about events. The information line handles an average of 1,000 calls a month,
with the bulk of the calls from journalists seeking information about UBC. Miscellaneous
inquiries about UBC, information about UBC Reports and university attractions,
directions and referrals to other departments comprise the bulk of the remaining
calls.
World Wide Web
The Public Affairs Office
Web site, which provides on-line access to UBC Reports, media releases,
Facts & Figures, and other communications vehicles, was launched
in August 1996. A snapshot of Public Affairs Web site statistics from April
1, 1997 to March 31, 1998 shows:
- average # of files transmitted daily: 570
- total # of requests for information: 205,995
- total # of requests for the UBC Reports Calendar: 4,506
- total # of requests for Facts and Figures: 6,106
- total # of requests for media releases: 2,452
- total # of requests from UBC for information: 44,484
- total # of requests from across Canada (not incl. UBC) for information:
48,08
LOOKING AHEAD TO 1998-99
Building UBC’s relationship with the community will be a priority in the year
ahead. As the Vision process comes to a conclusion, UBC’s communications strategy
will define precise messages and means to communicate with, and receive input
from, its many diverse constituents. Key UBC initiatives that will be supported
through strategic communications in the next year include:
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Finalization and release of the Vision Statement for UBC
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Governance Study for Electoral Area `A’
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Research Awareness Campaign
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Official Community Plan/Local Area Plans
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On-line UBC Experts Service accessible via the World Wide Web
COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
External Affairs offers a range of communications services to campus, including:
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UBC Reports — tabloid newspaper published 21 times annually; circulation
37,000 -
Media Releases — 168 in 1997/98 publicizing research, teaching, people
and policy -
Phone contact — 200 calls per day
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Placement of UBC’s people and stories — hundreds annually in TV, radio
and print media, both in the Lower Mainland and across Canada -
News Conferences
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Media Monitoring Service — 200 packages annually, approximately 1,000
items -
Facts & Figures university brochure
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World Wide Web site
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Public consultation/public process
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Report to the Community
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President’s tours
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Contributions to faculty/departmental newsletters
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President’s Reports
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Speakers Bureau
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Alumni Chronicle contributions
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Media training services
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Communications consultation
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Campus Tours
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UBC experts contact service
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Brochures and other publications
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Speech writing services
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Editing services
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Congregation
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MLA/MP visits
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Donor publications
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Personal contact/one-on-one meetings
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Video productions
