Office of Communications, Marketing and External Relations

We will actively pursue a broad spectrum of sources for stories and images in order to reflect diversity, inclusion and anti-racism by:

Doing outreach to campus groups representing different races, religions, ethnicities, gender identities, sexualities. 
Work with Institutional Advancement to identify and spotlight alumni who represent different races, religions, ethnicities, gender identities and sexualities.  
Putting out calls on social media .
Audit images and sources to examine how they reflect inclusion and diversity.
Reopen "brag" list to encourage students, faculty and staff to share accomplishments or interesting stories that might otherwise not bubble up in traditional ways.

We will measure and evaluate the work of the Brandeis communications office, setting benchmarks and measuring progress.
Measurements and reporting will be done at regular and frequent intervals. By 2022, measurement and reporting should be done at least monthly.

As other units engage in anti-racism work, we will highlight this work in occasional stories.
When choosing faculty research to highlight, we will put an increased focus on work that addresses inequality.
Consider creating a campaign that celebrates the diversity at Brandeis: We would translate "Brandeis" into many different languages, including sign language and Braille and communicate other types of diversity such as LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter using color and a variety of backgrounds. The campaign would include an animation, social media campaign, swag (buttons, laptop stickers, T-shirts, etc.) and signage. This could tie into other efforts from the Office of Communications, Marketing and External Relations.

We will measure and evaluate the work of the Office of Communications, Marketing and External Relations, setting benchmarks and measuring progress.
Measurements and reporting will be done at regular and frequent intervals. By 2022, measurement and reporting should be done at least monthly.

Work with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to consider unconscious biases that may be present in our overall communications output and strategy.
If we wanted to continue to play off of the design campaign using different languages, we could do a quick video montage with different students and different backgrounds, saying "I Am Brandeis" in a language that reflect their background/signing.
Ensure events on the Campus Calendar that highlight topics of diversity, inclusion, the university's anti-racism work, etc. are considered for featured events.

We will measure and evaluate the work of the Office of Communications, Marketing and External Relations, setting benchmarks and measuring progress.
Measurements and reporting will be done at regular and frequent intervals. By 2022, measurement and reporting should be done at least monthly.

Work with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to consider unconscious biases that may be present in job postings.
Expand the number of platforms where jobs are posted to target a diverse audience.
Include a diverse group of individuals, including from outside the office, in the hiring process for communications roles.

We will measure and evaluate the work of the Office of Communications, Marketing and External Relations, setting benchmarks and measuring progress.

Idea: In the fall, we could recruit (and pay) a diverse group of students who could comment on topical issues, within and outside the university. This could work for social media and BrandeisNOW and possibly for Admissions content and the magazine.
Suggested office reading list, e.g., "Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do" by Claude Steele, "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent" by Isabel Wilkerson.

We will measure and evaluate the work of the Office of Communications, Marketing and External Relations by setting benchmarks and measuring progress.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging