Remy Hogan
Staff Writer
Visitors to the University of La Verne’s website on April 26 noticed an entirely new layout.
Since 2015 the University’s Office of Strategic Communications has been working updating the website to be more user-friendly and modern.
“The website is the ideal location to be the face of the University to represent who we are, our spirit, our mission, our inclusivity,” said University President Devorah Lieberman.
“It gives the opportunity for prospective students to enroll, for alumni to be proud, and for the greater community to understand what a remarkable institution this University is.”
Strategic Communications was responsible for the entire process. Included in that process was the digital communications department, led by director Matt Hutaff, and the creative services department, led by director Maureen Panos.
Hutaff’s team collaborated with outside vendors to create the digital layout for the updated site.
Meanwhile Panos’ team organized photo shoots with students and faculty to enhance the visual components of the website.
“I think the new site looks more modern,” Sarah Yauchzee, junior chemistry major, said.
“It’s fitting for the online presence of the University to be changing as the campus itself does.”
Visually, the site is very different than it was.
Each page or link has slightly different content and a different color scheme.
The goal of these changes is to make the website easier to navigate and more appealing to view.
“It already looks easier to find things than the old design,” Yauchzee said.
The original launch date for the new website was planned to coincide with the University’s 125th anniversary, which was the 2016. However, it grew and evolved beyond that.
After many meetings with students, deans, department heads, faculty chairs, the Faculty Senate, the President’s Executive Cabinet and the University Management Council, the building of the website officially began last spring.
“We really tried to touch every part of the La Verne community to make sure that they were part of the process,” said Hutaff, who starting working at the University in October 2015, the same year the process launched.
“I’m still in the process of exhaling because this has been my life since I started working here. Letting the whole world see it is the most gratifying part of it.”
So far, the campus community has reacted well to the new changes to the website.
“What I’m most proud of is the collaborative effort that it took to put this together, and the feedback that we have received has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Rod Leveque, executive director of the Office of Strategic Communication.
The site still has some bugs to work out. In the first two days since its launch, Strategic Communications received between 50 and 60 comments about needed changes, corrections or omissions, as well as positive feedback.
If visitors of the new website wish to leave a comment, question or concern, they are encouraged to do so via the feedback forms at the bottom of every page of the website.
“I am looking forward to the University of La Verne community working together to help make this website everything that we want it to be and that it deserves to be,” Lieberman said.
Remy Hogan can be reached at remy.hogan@laverne.edu.
