November 6, 2009

‘MyVUMC’ to consolidate mass e-mail messages

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‘MyVUMC’ to consolidate mass e-mail messages

You are about to get far fewer official e-mails.

Tuesday, Nov. 10 will see the launch of MyVUMC, a twice-weekly e-mail digest of Vanderbilt University Medical Center information and announcements. VUMC’s Office of News and Public Affairs will produce MyVUMC and oversee its content.

“One of the commitments I made as I became vice chancellor was to improve communication throughout the Medical Center, and I believe MyVUMC will greatly contribute to that improvement,” said Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

MyVUMC will be sent to all VUMC e-mail addresses on all non-holiday Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The new digest of non-emergency information is designed to complement the university-wide myVU Preview that is sent out each Monday and Thursday and contains information and general announcements to all Vanderbilt faculty and staff, including those at the Medical Center.

Emergency situations, such as severe weather warnings, utility failure, and other serious and unpredictable circumstances may still result in a housewide e-mail.

MyVUMC is an additional component of an overall communications package designed to provide news and information to faculty and staff across the entire university,” said Beth Fortune, vice chancellor for Public Affairs.

MyVUMC will deliver information specific to the Medical Center, while myVU will continue to disseminate news and information of interest to the entire Vanderbilt community.”

MyVUMC will include Medical Center-specific information and announcements, such as research studies seeking participants, announcements about patient and staff safety, and faculty and clinical news. These announcements, some with links to Web sites with more information, will replace the myriad Medical Center-wide e-mails, and will also replace the current e-bulletin.

Messages for consideration should be submitted in Microsoft Word file format, in paragraph form, to MyVUMC@Vanderbilt.edu. For messages longer than 100 words, a link should be submitted to a VUMC department Web site where detailed information can be found. Announcements pertaining to VUMC-wide events of broad interest to faculty, staff, and/or students can be listed up to two times per month by request.
Submissions will be accepted until 5 p.m. the day before distribution.

Those items considered of interest to Vanderbilt employees in general should continue to be e-mailed to myVU@vanderbilt.edu. MyVU Preview information is featured and archived on the myVU Web site (www.vanderbilt.edu/myvu/).

Balser said that he has experienced first-hand the growing number of e-mails, and that bundling all non-emergency announcements into a convenient and easy-to-read bulletin board is a first step toward streamlining communication.

“I hope everyone will take time to read MyVUMC. This will be the primary vehicle for VUMC-wide regular communication moving forward.”