A Multifaceted Approach to Communicating

This article will discuss several strategies related to marketing undergraduate research, describing how an increase in faculty activity led the administration and faculty at California Lutheran University to work together to organize undergraduate research activities on campus. While this was happening, the admissions office took note and started gathering information on these activities. Structural changes in admissions and marketing occurred, which created new strategies for developing and sharing marketing messages about undergraduate research. As a result, we can offer preliminary results of the effectiveness of our messaging about this research. This marketing process and feedback can assist other institutions, especially smaller universities, in coordinating their messaging about undergraduate research in a more effective manner. California Lutheran University (CLU) is a relatively young institution, having been established in 1959 as California Lutheran College. The predominantly residential institution, with a total enrollment of 3,931 (including 2,545 undergraduates) has deep roots in the liberal arts and offers 36 undergraduate majors and 31 minors, plus an accelerated degree program in the evening for adults. It has granted master’s degrees since 1972 and doctorates since 2006. The average class size is 22 students. The primary role of the faculty at CLU is teaching, although faculty interests in, and the institutional expectations for, scholarship have increased recently. With these increases has come an increase in mentored undergraduate research and creative activity and a more deliberate approach to educating faculty regarding such undergraduate work. Faculty and Administration Initiatives In the summer of 2006, CLU sent a team of faculty to the CUR National Conference. This team came back to campus excited about the concept of a campus-wide celebration of student and faculty scholarly and creative work, and in the spring of 2007, the university hosted its first Festival of Scholars. In February 2008, a different team of faculty attended the CU