Penn State Intercom..

Guidelines for submitting information
to Intercom and the Faculty/Staff Newswire

These are general guidelines for the submission of material. All material is subject to review and editing. Final decisions for inclusion of an item rests with the editorial staff of the Intercom. Items not listed here will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.


General

All information for publication in Intercom should be sent in the body of an e-mail to
AMountz@psu.edu by noon on the deadline day. Due to the volume of information received, hard copy or faxed material will not be accepted for publication unless the sender does not have access to e-mail. Due to space constraints, items will be published only once per semester.

Intercom does not print announcements of events that occur on the date of publication. Events that occur on a Thursday should be submitted in time to appear in the issue of the week before the event takes place.


25-Year Awards

Intercom runs photos with cutlines that includes: name, title, college or unit for which the individual worked and the Penn State location. Information for 25-year awards is submitted by HR representatives or by communicators in those units. Photos are charged to Intercom budget. For the online submission form, click here.


Awards

Intercom and the Faculty/Staff Newswire run basic information, with full stories appearing in Intercom Online, for employees who:

1. make significant contributions in areas such as the arts or music;

2. receive such awards as Guggenheim, Fulbright or NATO fellowships;

3. receive any statewide or national award from associations or organizations, which may warrant longer story than Penn Stater mention;

4. win staff and faculty recognition awards from campuses, colleges and larger units, such as Graduate School, C&DE. Space limitations prohibit use of departmental awards; or

5. earn teaching awards from colleges or campuses. Story of a few paragraphs and photo inclusion, space permitting.;

Intercom does not use distinguished alumni awards from campuses, colleges or departments. Alumni Fellow award is only alumni award to be used;

Intercom also does not publish regional awards (ie. Northeast Chapter of ...).


Bookshelf

Intercom and the Faculty/Staff Newswire run basic information, with full information appearing in Intercom Online, about employees who have written or edited a book. Information should include book title, publisher, Web site and short description of book's contents. One to two paragraphs is preferable length. These will not be used until the book is actually published.


Lectures

Upcoming lectures will be published and a photo used when appropriate and if available. Same-day events will not be used.


Partings

Intercom and the Faculty/Staff Newswire run basic information, with full stories and photos appearing in Intercom Online, for retirements or departures of employees with 25 years or more of service or with emeritus rank. Articles and photos should be supplied by the employee's unit. Those who retire or depart with more than 10 but fewer than than 25 years of service appear in an Intercom Online listing with their name, title, department and number of years of University service.

Intercom and the Faculty/Staff Newswire will continue to accept/publish special circumstances, interest stories and articles on unusual departures.


Penn Staters

Penn Stater items are published in Intercom Online for employees who:

1. receive a national honor (examples: appointment to a prestigious national committee, awards for outstanding papers, special awards from a professional society, etc.);

2. are elected to office in a nationally recognized society or organization;

3. are elected fellows of a nationally recognized society;

4. are appointed editor-in-chief of a journal;

5. presented papers at an international meeting;

6. are invited plenary/keynote speakers at an international or national meeting;

7. are selected as visiting scholars;

8. make significant contributions in areas such as the arts or music, which may not fit under the above categories;

9. serve on a panel at an international meeting;

10. win any statewide or national award from associations. However, chapter or regional awards -- ie. "The Northeastern Chapter of..." -- will not be used; or

11. are named distinguished alumnus/alumna by an educational institution.

Intercom, Intercom Online and the Faculty/Staff Newswire do not publish items on Congressional testimony, or the receipt of an honorary doctorate degree.


Promotions

Listings of the names of staff and technical support employees, their new titles and campus location will be included in Intercom Online, unless the Intercom staff is notified of an employee's wish not to be listed. Promotion listings come from the Office of Human Resources.


Research

Story must be written in newstyle, preferably by a writer from Public Information. Stories from communicators within the colleges are acceptable, but must meet editorial standards. Stories should be of general interest to Intercom readers and be current (within the last eight months). Stories that have broader appeal more often are selected to appear on this page.

Research Roundup stories selected for this page are always heavily edited to fit format.


Other areas for inclusion:

* Special events: Events or programs related to diversity; photos are welcome. Information on events should be provided to the Intercom staff before the event is held. Any plans for special days, such as Martin Luther King Jr. holiday or celebrations of Black History Month, or Women's Awareness Week, should be submitted well in advance. The Intercom generally tries to do a roundup of events. Events of unusual magnitude, such as presidential visits, will be taken on case-by-case basis.

* Special features/Outreach and service: Stories on interesting faculty/staff. (ie. those with unusual jobs, hobbies, volunteer work); or programs that show how Penn State is fulfilling its mission.

* News Stories: Programs, upcoming events, etc.

FYI

-- Intercom, Intercom Online and the Faculty/Staff Newswire do not carry news of colloquia or lectures presented at other educational institutions, papers presented at national meetings or papers published in journals. Congressional testimony of faculty or staff is not published as a Penn Stater.

-- Distinguished alumni named by departments will not be published.

-- News of appointments (with photo when appropriate) will be published in Intercom Online, with name and title running in Intercom and the Faculty/Staff Newswire. "Acting" or interim appointments of individuals who will oversee campuses, colleges or larger units will be used in the same manner.

Submit copy to Annemarie Mountz at AMountz@psu.edu. For the list of publication dates and deadlines, click here.

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