Inaugural L.I.F.T. Conference held
Delaware State University held its first-ever L.I.F.T. Conference on July 27 which brought together members of the campus community to discuss best practices in connection with marketing and branding.
The all-day conference, held in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center, was a morning and afternoon of presentations on wide-ranging topics designed to enable University members to communicate and work better in their role in carrying out the mission of Delaware State University.
“Students, faculty, staff, athletics personnel, and administrators came together to strengthen the brand and improve communications and student engagement,” said Dr. Dawn Mosley, Sr. Associate Vice President of Marketing and Communications, who is the founder and driving force behind L.I.F.T. (Leverage, Inform, Focus and Transform). “It is a vision for shared governance.”
The conference was an outgrowth of the establishment of L.I.F.T., which came into being via Zoom in July 2021. In what became bi-weekly meetings, more than 70 attendees have met over the last year to share their expertise, efforts and insight. The organizational innovation provided campus members with a platform to share important information and updates from their individual areas of responsibilities, offices, departments and colleges.
The conference featured presentations on: The Relevance of 1890 Land Grant Universities (Troy Darden), Branding Guidelines and Trademark Requirements (Dr. Mosley), and News Media Requests and Protocols (Carlos Holmes, Pati Nash, and Dennis Jones). There were also presentations on the Events Request Process (Dr. Quiana Hutchins and Jordin Williams), Risk Management/COVID Update (Dr. Michelle Fisher), Universally Designed Events/ADA & 504 Compliance (Dr. Ann Knettler), Microsoft Forms for Events, Registration and Data Collection (Curtis Winslow), as well as a an overview of Canva, a new graphic design program (Jasmine Couch).
Students from the Department of Mass Communications’ DSU-TV also participated in the event. DSU-TV student producer Nyla Branam joined Dr. Mosley in giving a presentation on Social Media Content and Best Practices.
Dr. Mosley said plans are in the works for a 2023 L.I.F.T. Conference, in which other HBCUs will be invited to attend, also providing them with the opportunity to share and learn about the latest best practices.