Communicator roundtables are small-group, affinity-based meetings for campus communicators. Each of the roundtables meets regularly with the goal of building communities of practice in support of the university’s communications and marketing objectives. Roundtables are co-facilitated by someone on the Office of Communications and Marketing staff and a member of our campus community. Below is a description of each of the roundtable group along with its meeting and communication details.
Roundtable Details
Content Development Roundtable
Ideal for campus communicators who plan, develop, write, and share feature and news stories with internal and external audiences. The group meets quarterly (on the third Wednesdays of those months) to cover topics such as content strategy, writing memorable and UT-centric stories and articles, ideas for creative storytelling through various media, grammar and editorial usage, and more.
Meetings are 11 a.m. to noon on the following dates through the 2022–23 academic year:
- August 17, Student Union 362 A/B
Topic: Table setting for this year’s meetings, insights from local media - November 16, Student Union 362 A/B
- February 15, Student Union 362 A/B
- May 17, Student Union 362 A/B
Co-facilitators:
- Erica Estep, assistant director of news and information in the Office of Communications and Marketing, eestep2@utk.edu.
- David Goddard, coordinator of media relations for the Tickle College of Engineering, david.goddard@utk.edu
- Deborah Crouse, director of communications and marketing for the College of Communication and Information, dcrouse@utk.edu
To receive invites and updates relevant to the content development roundtable meetings, email Erica Estep at eestep2@utk.edu.
Design Roundtable
Ideal for designers and visual communication professionals who utilize the university’s brand identity to create communications for their units. The group meets monthly to share work among members, discuss challenges and opportunities, deepen professional connections between campus designers, identify design needs, and work together to develop tools and resources that elevate the university’s visual identity.
Meetings are 11 a.m. to noon on the following dates through the 2022–23 academic year:
- September 13, via Zoom. Email pwolf1@utk.edu for an invite.
- October 11, Student Union 362 A/B
- November 8, Student Union 362 A/B
- December 13, location TBD
- January 10, Student Union 362 A/B
- February 14, Student Union 362 A/B
- CANCELED—March 14, Student Union 362 A/B—CANCELED
- April 11, Student Union 362 A/B
- May 9, Student Union 362 A/B
Co-facilitators:
- Patrick Wolf, director of creative communications in the Office of Communications and Marketing, pwolf1@utk.edu.
- Kristy Keel-Blackmon, creative manager for the Institute for Public Service, kristy.kb@tennessee.edu
To receive Outlook invites to the design roundtable meetings (including each meeting’s location), email Patrick Wolf at pwolf1@utk.edu.
The design roundtable also keeps in touch through a Slack channel. Email Patrick Wolf at pwolf1@utk.edu with a request to join.
Multimedia Roundtable
Ideal for campus communicators who produce and utilize video, audio, and photography in creative communications for their unit. The group meets every other month (on the last Tuesdays of those months) to share work, ask questions, learn new techniques, work together to develop tools and resources that elevate the university’s visual identity, and discuss best practices for video production, audio production, and photography.
Meetings are 11 a.m. to noon on the following dates through the 2022–23 academic year:
- September 27, Student Union 362 A/B
- November 29, Student Union 362 A/B
- January 31, Student Union 362 A/B
- March 28, Student Union 362 A/B
- May 30, Student Union 362 A/B
To receive Outlook invites to the multimedia roundtable meetings, email Isaac Fowler, co-facilitator and senior video producer in the Office of Communications and Marketing, at ifowler1@utk.edu.
Social Media Roundtable
Ideal for communication professionals from across campus who support their units and the university through official social media accounts. The group’s meetings offer a space to ask questions, share tips, find opportunities for collaboration, get ideas, and even brag a little.
Meetings are 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. unless otherwise noted on the following dates through the 2022–23 academic year:
- September 6, Student Union 262 A/B
- October 4, via Zoom
- November 1, via Zoom
- December 6, Student Union 262 A/B
- January 17, via Zoom
- February 7, Student Union 262 A/B
- March 7, Student Union 262 A, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (bring your own lunch)
- April 4, Student Union 270
- May 2, via Zoom
Co-facilitators:
- Carrie Mills, social media manager in the Office of Communications and Marketing, cmills27@utk.edu.
- Alyssa Seisser, content strategy manager for the Division of Student Life, aseisser@utk.edu
To receive Outlook invites to the social media roundtable meetings (including each meeting’s mode/location), email Carrie Mills at cmills27@utk.edu.
The social media roundtable group also keeps in touch through the Big Orange Social Facebook group. Request to join the group through Facebook.
Web Developers Roundtable:
A community of creative technical professionals sharing ideas, problems, and solutions related to web development and digital communications. It is ideal for web designers, web developers, digital content managers, digital marketing specialists, and IT specialists. The group meets virtually three times a year (on the last Thursdays of those months) to provide opportunities for digital communications professionals to connect with colleagues, learn best practices, and collaborate on shared university resources.
Meetings are 2 to 3 p.m. on the following dates through the 2022–23 academic year:
- September 29, via Zoom
- February 23, via Zoom
Co-facilitators:
- Michael Purdy, assistant director of digital communications in the Office of Communications and Marketing, purdy@utk.edu.
- Brittney VanDeventer, web developer-designer for Tickle College of Engineering, bvandeventer@utk.edu
To receive Outlook invites to the web developers roundtable meetings (including each meeting’s link), email Michael Purdy at purdy@utk.edu.
The web developers roundtable also keeps in touch through a Slack channel. Email Michael Purdy at purdy@utk.edu with a request to join.