Connections - Winter 2011-2012 - Nazareth College

NEWS|views
n School of Management
Management
Videos Speak to
Future Students
by Robyn Rime
The School of Management has hit the
web with the creation of a YouTube
channel filled with testimonial videos
of current students, recent graduates,
and alumni.
“Fewer students each year find out about
us through traditional media,” explains
Gerard Zappia ’89G, dean of the School of
Management. “We’re trying to find more
effective ways to recruit students, and these
days they’re often discovering us on the
internet.”
The brief videos, found at www.youtube.
com/use/NazarethSOM, feature “students
and faculty who represent what we do here
in the School of Management,” says Zappia.
For example, Joe DaBoll-Lavoie, Ph.D., chair
of SOM undergraduate programs, provides an
overview of the school’s triple focus on global,
ethical, and entrepreneurial issues. Sara
Weigel ’11, a business administration major,
explains how the flexibility within the program
allows her to “blaze her own trail.”
Videos about the undergraduate programs
provide brief introductions to the seven undergraduate
majors such as accounting, information
technology, and international business
and highlight students passionate about their
Nazareth experience. Mackenzie Gotshall
’11, a business administration major, speaks
of the confidence she gained through Nazareth’s
extensive internship program, and Greg
Best ’11 describes how the music business
program maintains a good balance between
performance and production.
Graduate programs are represented by
alumni who speak to the outcomes of their
degrees. For instance, Portia James ’99G,
the senior director of workforce and leadership
development at Unity Health Systems,
testifies that a master’s in management from
Nazareth provided her with a greater level of
credibility in her work environment, changed
the perception of her by her co-workers, and
became the turning point in her career. “Ten
years later, my degree from Nazareth continues
to be useful and relevant to the work I do
every day,” she says.
“We’re trying to create an emotional
connection with prospective students,” says
Zappia. “We want them to get to know us.
The videos communicate the strengths of our
programs and add dimension to what we
do.”
The admissions team and SOM faculty are
currently using the videos during information
sessions and open houses for prospective
students. Links to the videos appear in venues
such as print ads; accepted students will
receive links matched to their specific interests;
and print and electronic communications with
alumni direct them to the videos in an effort
to mine referrals and make more personal connections.
Zappia will use the videos when talking
to benefactors such as potential donors,
advisory councils, and outside business groups,
seeing them as a valuable way to reinforce the
school’s goals and activities.
Future plans include “supplementing our
alumni videos with additional testimonials
from the business advisory board members
who help us shape our programs,” says
Lorraine Henderson ‘97G, Ph.D., assistant
professor and director of the M.S. programs
in management and human resource management.
“Getting jobs is a key question in
student interviews, and the network that the
advisory board provides is of interest to our
prospective students.”
The videos help to demonstrate what people
can get from their Nazareth management
education, Zappia concludes. He plans to add
more videos to the channel each year.
View the School of Management’s videos at
www.youtube.com/user/NazarethSOM.
Robyn Rime is the editor of Connections.
16 CONNECTIONS | Winter 2011-12 www.naz.edu