UC Davis reaches out with social media

UC Davis lectures, research, bike trails and even a tour of the newly refurbished Coffee House are all available virtually to anyone with access to the Internet.

Blogs, iTunes, Facebook and YouTube now all extending the university’s reach — and building interest in the campus.

“Very broadly, this is the mission of the University Communications — to expand and enhance the reputation of UC Davis, the people who work here and the work that they do,” says Mitchel Benson, associate vice chancellor of University Communications. “There’s no better way to build community with the parents of students than to offer them a taste of what their students are getting.”

A ‘virtual’ buffet

Taken together, those “tastes” provide a virtual buffet of campus offerings. A UC Davis social media page provides a jumping off point.

Video and audio recordings available for free via iTunes U include reports created for public television, broadcasts of the chancellor’s convocation speeches and actual lectures offered to UC Davis students. About 1,500 audio and video tracts attract some 47,000 downloads a month, according to Benson.

UC Davis is also a big presence on Facebook, with students and faculty posting everything from campus research and student and faculty honors to cool photos of campus life. “Right now, we have almost 31,000 ‘likes’,” says Benson, of response to the campus Facebook page. “Most of them are from United States fans, but they’re also from the Philippines, India, Canada and Taiwan.”

The UC Davis Parent Network on Facebook provides an opportunity for parents to interact.

The chancellor blogs

There are also numerous UC Davis blogs available for anyone interested in student and faculty work on campus. A new blog by UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi, called “Common Sense,” shares her views on important university activities and events.

“The chancellor hopes to use the blog to foster a robust dialogue with the UC Davis community and beyond, sharing her thoughts, ideas and news about UC Davis, and encouraging readers to participate, sharing their thoughts, concerns and observations," says Benson.

Parents and others can follow more than a dozen UC Davis Twitter accounts, which offer reports of notable UC Davis research as well as bulletins about the University of California in general and UC Davis in particular.

UC Davis YouTube videos now number nearly 500 and have received more than 400,000 views from fans interested in anything from UC Davis-related news stories to student-created musical videos about life on campus. YouTube videos include glimpses of UC Davis sports events, lectures and special campus programs. Offerings highlight everything from an interview with anthropologist Jane Goodall on the role zoos play in saving wild animals to research on why eating cocoa can be good for your heart.

Benson says the university’s commitment to social media isn’t necessarily directed at students, parents, faculty or donors — but to all of them, really. “Ultimately," he says, "the idea is to tell our most compelling stories about UC Davis in the most effective way to the widest possible audience. If social media help us accomplish that goal, then we’re moving in the right direction," he adds.