MyVU is the main news and storytelling platform for the Vanderbilt University campus community. MyVU provides timely and relevant information to inspire the campus community as we pursue our shared mission and values. Published stories appear on the MyVU website, and a curated selection of stories is published to the MyVU email newsletter twice a week.
If a request is submitted and approved for inclusion, content can be expected to appear on the MyVU website within a week. Anything that requires additional approval through Communications and Marketing should be sent to the MyVU team at least five business days before your requested publish date. Requests for the Communications and Marketing team to draft a story are evaluated; approved requests require a two- to three-week minimum turnaround.
How do I get my news or story in MyVU?
We welcome you to submit your stories and news to us for consideration through our submission form. While many stories are produced by our in-house Communications and Marketing team, we often consider submissions from campus communicators.
Please note that not every submission will be published to the MyVU website or included in the newsletter. Our editorial team reviews all submissions to ensure that they meet our standards and are in line with MyVU’s objectives.
When submitting a story for consideration, please ensure that you include a featured image. Images must be 650×325 to adhere to the MyVU formatting. If you do not have an image, please suggest one for us to consider.
How do you decide what goes in the MyVU email newsletter?
To ensure that the MyVU email newsletter is relevant and engaging, we look for stories that are:
- Applicable to the broad campus community. When submitting your news or story idea, consider whether this will be of interest to a large portion of the Vanderbilt community. Items that are relevant to a narrower audience should first be posted to websites and newsletters that are tailored to those audiences.
- MyVU focuses on current events, achievements and news. Stories should reflect recent happenings, developments or announcements. Events or news in the past might be considered outdated unless they offer a unique perspective or have ongoing implications.
- Mission-focused. The content we include aligns with Vanderbilt’s core values, superlatives and strategic goals. This ensures that MyVU fosters unity and a shared sense of purpose within our community. When proposing a story, consider how it reinforces the university’s commitment to growth and collaboration and highlights its strengths in education and research.
What types of stories and news are published in MyVU?
Our Communications and Marketing team is looking for news and stories that apply to a broad audience. The types of content most often in the MyVU website and email include:
Feature stories
Major institutional achievements
Trans-institutional collaborations
Profiles of Vanderbilt campus community members and alumni
Campus news and announcements
Creation or expansion of university-wide programs or initiatives
Messages or announcements from Vanderbilt leadership
Major construction or transportation updates
Health, wellness and benefits information applicable to a broad group (for example, Open Enrollment)
Hiring of vice chancellor, vice provost and dean-level positions
Major gift announcements
Coming events with broad appeal
All campus events must be added to the university’s event calendar; submissions can be made to that from the calendar’s webpage. Please review the event calendar best practices before submitting your event.
- For events that are farther out, we will run a “save the date” one to two months in advance.
- Once the event date nears (approximately one to two weeks beforehand), we will run the event listing again in the “Upcoming Events” and/or “This Week at VU” sections of the newsletter
Research news
Interesting and high-level research breakthroughs
Grant announcements, typically above $1 million
Limited submission research opportunities and research study participation calls that are applicable to the broader campus community
Awards and honors
Prestigious national and international level awards
University-wide internal/Vanderbilt-specific awards
Obituaries
Current and emeritus/emerita faculty
Current and former Board of Trust members, chancellors, deans and vice chancellors
Notable members of the Vanderbilt community on a case-by-case basis
What is not included in MyVU?
News and information that is applicable to a narrower audience is typically not included in the MyVU email. A broader range of content might be appropriate for the MyVU website. More focused content should be posted to the respective area’s communication platforms. A link to the story can be submitted to the MyVU team for consideration for posting to the MyVU website.
- Student organization news and events
- Benefits information applicable or of interest to a narrow group
- Construction updates or transportation changes affecting a small number of people or a specific area of campus
- School or college-specific news and events that may not be relevant to the broader campus audience, including event recaps
- Off-campus events
- Note: If Vanderbilt is a major sponsor of an event, it can be shared with the MyVU team for consideration
- Outside contests, fundraising efforts and anything asking for newsletter readers to vote for an organization/product/effort
- Hiring or departure news below the chancellor, vice chancellor, vice provost and dean level
- Staff obituaries (except for particularly high-profile individuals, which are evaluated on a case-by-case basis)
What style of writing makes content engaging?
Please note that using formats such as smart brief style and “things you need to know” story formats is the preferred style of content in the MyVU newsletter. These formats help present information concisely and in an engaging manner, which increases readability and improves comprehension.
The final decision on content, style and inclusion rests with the Communications and Marketing team, who have the authority to determine the most effective approach for delivering content to the Vanderbilt University campus audience.
Timing
If a story, announcement or event request is submitted and approved for inclusion, it can be expected to appear on the MyVU website within a week. Anything that requires additional approval through Communications and Marketing should be sent to the MyVU team at least five business days before your requested publish date. If a request is made for the Communications and Marketing team to draft a story, the team will evaluate and then require a two- to three-week minimum turnaround.
Please email us at myvu@vanderbilt.edu if you have any questions.
Other Communication Channel Recommendations
If you are looking for additional ways to promote your news, announcement or event, we recommend considering these additional communication channels throughout the university based on the audience(s) you are trying to reach.
Faculty
- Faculty Senate communications
- Emails from the Provost/Office of the Provost
- Direct communication from vice provost or dean
- Research newsletter
- Employee affinity group outreach
Students
- InnerVU newsletter (undergraduate students)
- The Grad School Connection (graduate students)
- Anchor Link (student organization outreach)
- The Hustler (student newspaper; contact through Communications & Marketing Media Relations team)
Staff
- Vice chancellors
- Human Capital Management Specialists (area-specific HR representatives)
- Chiefs of Staff
- Managers
- University Staff Advisory Council newsletter and other communications
- Employee affinity group outreach
- For non-desk workers, flyers, postcards or direct word of mouth through managers
Targeted Outreach
News or events most relevant only to those in the same division, department or school or college.
- Division/department websites
- Divisional/department newsletters and listservs
- Divisional/department social media accounts
- School or college newsletters
Alumni
- Events email (monthly)
- Vanderbilt Magazine E-newsletter (monthly)
- Vanderbilt Magazine (printed twice yearly)
- School or college-specific alumni newsletters
- Multiple Alumni Affinity Group newsletters
- Several other newsletters including Travel, New Grads, and more
Parents & Families
- Commodore Connection newsletter (monthly)
- Parents and Family Association outreach
Other
- Events calendar
- Social media channels
- University Communicators and Marketers Forum
- Share an update during the monthly meeting
- Email the UCMF listserv or post in Teams channel
- Media coverage (contact through Communications & Marketing Media Relations team)
- Digital/print signage (request through Communications and Marketing, design your own or use a freelance designer/printer)