University Communications: Your Guide to Existing Platforms and Recent Changes

Heading reads: The Inside Scoop on University News, followed by the Empire State University torch logo. Heading reads: Your Guide to University News Platforms. Yellow box labeled "SUNY Empire News, External News Site" with accompanying official banner for the external news site. Blue box labeled "University Bulletin, Internal News Site" with a screen capture of the internal SharePoint site. Yellow box labeled "Roundup, Internal Newsletter" with accompanying screen capture of the most recent email newsletter edition.
Visual guide to university news platforms.
Posted On: July 24, 2025

(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — July 24, 2025) The Office of Communications has made changes in response to survey feedback gathered from staff and faculty earlier this year regarding reading habits and preferences of internal and external university news. We’d also like to take the opportunity to define the three news sources used by the Office of Communications.  

University Bulletin (Internal Only) 

Formerly known as SUNY Empire News, this internal SharePoint news site was renamed to avoid confusion with our external news site, SUNY Empire News. University Bulletin shares content only accessible to faculty and staff and requires employee login. The platform was streamlined into a single news stream for easier readability, with certain sections like New Hires and Moves and Policy and Program Review remaining in visible spots in the sidebar. 

What You’ll Find on University Bulletin: 

  • New Hires & People on the Move: Hiring updates and role changes, sorted by month and year. 
  • Policy and Program Review: Policies and programs ready for 30-day review and comment are linked in this section. 
  • Pinned News: Messages distributed to “All Users” appear in this section, along with monthly department messages, HR messages, and employee training reminders. 
  • SUNY Empire Spotlight: This monthly newsletter contains professional accomplishments of university faculty and staff. 

Roundup (Internal Only) 

This redesigned and reconfigured email newsletter, sent from the SUNY Empire News email address each week, provides a summary of news highlights from the University Bulletin and SUNY Empire News. It is viewable to faculty and staff only and features upcoming events, news hits, and presidential/faculty/staff media appearances. 

What You’ll Find in Roundup 

  • Things to Keep in Mind This Week: Updates and deadlines for faculty and staff. 
  • News You Might Have Missed: The most recent stories published on SUNY Empire News. 
  • In the News: List of media appearances by SUNY Empire staff and faculty, with links to the source article and/or video. 

Roundup Changes 

  • Roundup is being sent from a new platform, Constant Contact, which allows for greater functionality and metrics tracking to aid in the Office of Communications’ strategic goals.  
  • New subject lines were introduced that give you a preview of what you’ll be reading about before you open Roundup. 
  • More visually-appealing emails with photos that help tell our stories. 
  • Teaser sentences accompanying featured news stories to give you a first look at what the story is about. 
  • More opportunities to submit and highlight your content with links to New Hires and Moves form, opportunities to work with us as a university expert, and contact info to reach out if you have a story you want to share. 

SUNY Empire News (External) 

The only public-facing news platform for Empire State University contains articles authored by the Office of Communications. Stories aim to raise the university’s public profile by showcasing its mission, goals, and accomplishments in action—from new academic offerings and initiatives to student, alumni, and employee profiles.   

What You’ll Find on SUNY Empire News 

  • Featured Story: Highlights a timely news story. 
  • More Top Stories: The five most recently published stories. 
  • SUNY Empire in the News: Our monthly Spotlight newsletter is published here, along with noteworthy media appearances and news mentions. 
  • News Archive: Previously published external news stories, arranged chronologically. 
  • Experts at Empire State University: A list of our featured experts sorted by name and topic, as well as recent media appearances by university experts. 
  • Media Kit: A self-serve resource for journalists. 

Your Feedback and Stories Matter 

The Office of Communications welcomes news leads, human interest stories, and student or professional accomplishments. All things that exemplify SUNY Empire pride, uplift the university’s goals, and amplify its mission have a home in our platforms. Email sunyempirenews@sunyempire.edu to share story ideas, questions, or pitch your expertise.