Berklee2005: Build on Our Strengths 1.5

1.5 Communicate Berklee's unique identity throughout the organization

Establish a consistent philosophical approach, based on Berklee’s unique strengths, to help each individual achieve their best.

(progress as of August 2004, August 2003, August 2002, August 2001)

Progress as of August 2005

Distribution of the book Berklee: The First 50 Years, published in conjunction with the college’s 50th anniversary.
Campus tours for all new employees, including Berklee’s history and achievements.
Events at the annual Berklee Recognition and Acknowledgement of Staff Support (BRASS) Day presentations featuring Berklee’s unique identity.
Introduction in Fall 2004 of a biweekly e-mail newsletter, the Faculty/Staff Newsletter, intended to be a reliable and dependable source for college information with a focus on the major activities of the college. Headlines give brief descriptions with links to areas of interest. Topics to be covered include enrollment, curriculum assessment and planning, new people, benefits, Berklee Media, technology infrastructure, training and development opportunities, and much more. The newsletter is archived on www.berklee.net/fsnews.

Progress as of August 2004
A description of the Berklee identity, the voice book, was prepared for the purpose of communicating the college’s unique identity throughout the organization. All faculty and staff received a copy in winter 2002, and all new members of the college community receive it during orientation. This orientation program is now well established; there needs to be follow-up in the community to assess support and adoption for the new voice.

The Visibility Initiative Task Force is also coordinating this initiative.

Connected offices include Administration/Finance, for cooperative involvement and significant participation by Human Resources; Information Technology, for possible Web-based support of efforts such as interactive message boards; Student Affairs, for outcomes improving services to students.

Closely related initiative includes Increase Institutional Visibility.

Communicate Identity Leadership Oversight Group
Gary Burton Executive Vice President, Chair/Cabinet Liaison (retiring 10/04)
Mike Dreese Trustee Emeritus
Bill Holodnak Trustee
Lee Berk President (retired 6/04)
David R. Hornfischer Vice President for Administration and Finance
Tom Riley Vice President for External Relations

Communications Council
Tom Riley Vice President for External Affairs, Chair
Damien Bracken Director of Admissions, Scholarships and Student Employment
Rob Hayes Assistant Vice President for Public Information
Rosie Huntress Assistant to the Vice President for External Affairs
Barry Kelly Marketing Manager, Berklee Media
David Kusek Vice President for Berklee Media
Steven Lipman Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs/Enrollment
Judith Lucas Assistant Vice President for Communications
Matt Marvuglio Dean, Professional Performance Division
David McKay Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Jennifer D’Angora Marketing Manager, Berklee Press
Rob Rose Associate Vice President for Special Programs
J. Curtis Warner Assistant Vice President for Community and Governmental Affairs

Progress as of August 2003
The Visibility Initiative Task Force is also coordinating this initiative.

The executive vice president leads a campus tour for all new employees, introducing them to Berklee's history and achievements.
All new employees receive a copy of Berklee: The First Fifty Years.
Patricia Deneroff, a principal of the college's visibility consultant Siegel & Gale, spoke at BRASS Day about Berklee's unique identity.
The new Berklee voice book was distributed to all employees and trustees in September 2002.

Also, the college's Mission Review process, which included considerable reflection on Berklee's core values, was concluded in the fall of 2002 with the publication of a new mission; and the Institutional Self-Study, a 10-year benchmark report on college progress and effectiveness authored by more than 100 faculty, staff, and students, was published in January 2003.

Progress as of August 2002
The following plan elements have been initiated:

Tours for new employees covering college history and identity.
Distribution of Berklee: The First Fifty Years book to all employees.
Initial implementation of Berklee brand identification plan to serve both the internal and external communities we serve. This step is parallel to that described in the Increase Institutional Visibility initiative. Institutional image will be promoted internally as well as externally through efforts of the task groups.
A presentation on Institutional Visibility was made at the May 2002 Berklee Recognition and Acknowledgment of Staff Support (BRASS) Day.
A presentation on Institutional Visibility was made at the Berklee International Network (BIN) Summit, May 2002.
Presentations on Berklee visibility efforts were made to faculty in September 2002.
The new Berklee "Voice Book" was distributed to all employees and trustees in September 2002.

Progress as of August 2001
Goals approved for this initiative include: (1) create an environment for open communication; (2) encourage more interdepartmental communication; (3) develop effective avenues for communicating Berklee's institutional history and philosophy to faculty, staff and leadership on an ongoing basis; and, (4) develop ways to connect Berklee institutional philosophy to work ethics and workplace behavior. Progress so far has included: the expansion of the new employee orientation; review and revision of the leadership recognition/BRASS event to include staff development and team-building elements; President's Council focus group discussions of this initiative; distribution of the 50th-anniversary commemorative book Berklee: The First Fifty Years; and review of identity-oriented data emerging from the concurrent Mission Review project.

This initiative is very closely tied to the Increase Institutional Visibility initiative. It is expected that the communications consultant retained for that initiative will assist with developing messages that help to communicate our unique identity and culture within the institution as well as externally.

A cross-institutional task force will be created to coordinate the integration of this initiative with the Increase Institutional Visibility initiative.

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