In February 2021, the university took a significant step in that direction with the opening of the . The center provides various employee-centered resources and opportunities for personal and professional growth. Coaching circles allow employees to gather and collaborate on significant topics, such as anti-racism initiatives. Well-being retreats and mindfulness initiatives are also offered to cultivate a strong community of care. Award programs, which honor employee achievements and milestones, are also part of the center’s many efforts.

From the goals set in the Strategic Plan came seven initiatives to maintain a thriving spirit for UofL employees and ensure the institution is, indeed, a “Great Place to Work.” They are outlined below.

Web Improvement
The is a multi-year initiative aimed at revamping and improving the entire digital presence of the university. The effort marks the first funded, comprehensive web initiative in ���Ǵڳ�’s history and is the largest concurrent “reset” of UofL websites, systems and platforms.

The project focuses on enhancing the daily lives of students, faculty and staff by modernizing and improving all university web-based experiences, as well as the processes behind developing and maintaining them. This digital overhaul will allow the university to attract new students, foster a stronger relationship with the community and provide staff with opportunities to further develop and implement current technology in their professional capacities.

Metrics and guiding strategies of the project will be routinely re-evaluated and the response with the web realigned accordingly.

Digital Transformation
To prepare the UofL community for engagement in the evolving global market, the university has undertaken a broad array of digital transformation projects designed to provide the digital and mobile on-demand solutions and services required to efficiently work, learn and create, as well as training opportunities for high-demand workforce applications.

The implementation of Microsoft Teams and other Office 365 applications has improved efficiencies in academic and operational services. Every active UofL student, faculty member and employee now have access to the Adobe Creative Cloud at no cost thanks to a university enterprise license. Creative Cloud is an industry standard platform for creating documents, videos, audio, graphic design, photos, illustrations, websites and mobile apps.

���Ǵڳ�’s provides training for these and other software applications to faculty, staff and students at little to no cost. Many training programs come with badges, certificates or other credentials upon completion.

The Employee Success Center and the DTC announced in March that UofL employees and students have no-cost access to LinkedIn Learning. The platform includes more than 16,000 virtual courses designed to refine and develop technical, business, software and creative skills.

Workday
In order to simplify and enhance the day-to-day lives of employees, the university is transitioning from PeopleSoft human resources software to a newer, more accessible system. Information Technology Services identified the system that would best address employees’ needs. After working with various members of the campus community and engaging more than 77 stakeholders across 20 departments for feedback, the software was selected as the best system for the university.

Workday is an industry leader that provides a unified system for Human Capital Management. The implementation of the modern cloud-based system will offer timely and cost-effective functionality to employees while simplifying and standardizing numerous human resources processes across the university. The functionality of the software will improve hiring processes, reduce payroll calculation and processing errors, upgrade security and provide users with a more positive overall HR and payroll experience.

Brand Evolution
At the direction of the Office of the President and in support of the university’s Strategic Plan, UofL has refreshed its identity to include the addition of a strategic brand framework and messaging guidelines to complement the existing core brand visual standards.

More than just a logo, colors or tagline, the represents the core of who we are — from what it feels like to be a part of the Cardinal Family to the interactions that our faculty and staff have with students, families, fans and supporters.

Throughout the summer and fall of 2021, the Office of Communications and Marketing hosted several workshops to share ���Ǵڳ�’s new brand positioning and messaging with faculty, staff and students. These sessions also included the rollout of an extensive toolkit for communicators across campus and coincided with the formation of the UofL Brand Council. Comprised of the top-level communicators in each school/college and key administrative units, the council is responsible for developing and managing communications and marketing strategies to improve overall brand awareness, perceptions and engagement.

The official brand rollout to the entire university will take place Friday, Jan. 14, 2022.

Grand Challenges
UofL is dedicated to creating and applying knowledge that improves lives. By harnessing our research and scholarship efforts behind three of our time, we will find solutions that make a difference and lead to thriving futures here and beyond. The three Grand Challenges, as identified by a president-appointed subcommittee are: 1.) empowering our communities; 2.) advancing our health; and
3.) engineering our future economy.

Throughout the past year, the UofL Office of Research and Innovation has expanded or launched programming aimed at celebrating and supporting researchers and their work in the Grand Challenges. That work is now the focus of the office’s research and innovation town hall meetings, where UofL researchers can share their projects and find collaborators.

R&I, in partnership with the UofL College of Arts & Sciences, Office of Diversity and Equity and ATHENA program, also launched a new program called Ascending Stars that provides mentorship, funding and other support to high-performing associate professors who focus on work in diversity, inclusion and empowering our communities.

Other efforts have focused on giving researchers better tools. UofL recently selected a new Electronic Research Administration system called Cayuse, for example, meant to minimize the administrative burden of conducting research and facilitate the growth of UofL research programs.

Cardinal Anti-Racism Agenda
In the summer of 2020, the Office of the President announced a goal for the university to become the “premier anti-racist metropolitan research university in the country.” To guide us toward this goal, UofL has launched the .

While the university has taken many strides toward service to a more racially and socio-economically diverse workforce and student population, it is appropriate as a higher education institution to explore and to grow for the purpose of being a model for the communities we serve.

UofL has already established a few key commitments, including the recruitment and retention of more Black employees and students, building intentionally anti-racism curriculum across all disciplines, ensuring diverse representation on boards and committees, developing budgets that reflect the priority of diversity and equity and more. The in partnership with the , leads the charge to engage our community for more potential items to add to the anti-racism agenda.

Additionally, a vice president of diversity and equity will be named in 2022. This position will report directly to the university president, serving as a member of the President’s Cabinet, senior leadership team and other key institutional committees.

Total Rewards and Compensation Studies
Finally, the Strategic Plan identified fair and equitable compensation for faculty and staff as a critical aspect of ���Ǵڳ�’s commitment to being a great place to learn, to work and in which to invest. To honor this commitment, the Office of Human Resources is leading the . These studies will assess both employee wages and Total Rewards, which is the total of benefits offered including health care, tuition remission, paid leave and more.

The comprehensive studies are divided into a six-phase approach that will be accomplished over the next 18 to 24 months with assistance from Segal, an outside human resources consulting firm with extensive experience in conducting higher education compensation studies. Findings from the studies will provide the necessary framework for employee salaries and benefits moving forward.

The are lofty and as varied as the people who learn at, work for and provide support to educational institutions across the globe. Career readiness and higher lifetime incomes. The knowledge and ability to adapt to a changing world. Improving the economic and societal wellbeing of our communities.

But how, exactly, does the University of Louisville ensure these benefits are delivered and realized? What are we, the Cardinal Family, working to accomplish? And why should people care?

These are questions the Office of Communications and Marketing aims to answer through the brand evolution initiative now being shared with the campus community and slated to launch to external audiences via an integrated marketing campaign beginning in early 2022. At the direction of the Office of the President and in support of the university strategic plan, UofL has refreshed its identity to include the addition of a and messaging guidelines to complement the existing core brand .

“People want to engage with brands — with organizations and businesses — that stand for something. In order to remain competitive, we need to differentiate UofL and help people better understand who we are, how we’re unique, and what we stand for — our ‘why,’ ” said Kim Butterweck, executive director of brand and marketing for OCM. “Our brand framework is the roadmap for expressing ���Ǵڳ�’s noble purpose in a memorable way and ensuring the experience we provide to our students and other constituents aligns with that ‘why.’”

Through extensive market research, OCM and creative partner uncovered the emotional core of the UofL brand and then articulated the primary benefit the university provides. This forms the foundation of the brand communications framework, and aligns with the university’s mission and vision: UofL is a vital ecosystem that creates thriving futures for students, our community and society.

There are three primary message points, or pillars, that support this brand positioning and highlight our competitive advantages:
• Redefining Student Success: UofL invests in the whole student to unleash their potential and prepare them for the careers, workplaces and complex challenges of tomorrow.
• Research and Innovation Powerhouse: UofL creates and applies knowledge that improves lives.
• Premier Metropolitan University: UofL is dynamically connected to the local and global community.

“We are one university and we should be speaking with one voice,” said Erica Walsh, OCM’s director of marketing. “Our new communications framework and messaging guidelines will ensure a consistent voice, tone and personality across university communications moving forward. It also allows us to more easily show what sets UofL apart and helps create meaningful connections with our audiences.”

Throughout the summer and fall of 2021, OCM hosted several workshops to share ���Ǵڳ�’s new brand positioning and messaging with key faculty, staff and students. These sessions also included the rollout of phase one of an extensive across campus and coincided with the formation of the UofL Brand Council. Comprised of the top-level communicators in each school/college and key administrative units, the Brand Council is responsible for developing and managing communications and marketing strategies to improve overall brand awareness, perceptions and engagement.

“The power behind the UofL brand lies with those on campus making things; creating brand opportunities that reflect and amplify the values of the institution,” said Brian Faust, creative director for UofL. “Unit marketing needs are really diverse, so we worked to find commonalities among those needs to develop a roadmap for branded templates and assets. We have been fully committed in this process to providing more tools, training and resources for the folks doing this difficult work. In the end, it helps all of us — as well as the university.”

Information sessions are available for faculty, staff and students as the brand evolution initiative continues, leading to the launch of the university’s new marketing campaign, “Here and Beyond,” early next year. Virtual sessions are scheduled for , and . Visit the listings on the  for more information and to register for a session.