Navigate Calvin’s Internal Communication Ecosystem with Confidence
Clear, consistent communication helps us stay connected as one Calvin community. This page is your guide to Calvin’s internal communication platforms—why different channels exist, how to use them effectively, and what to expect from each.
Together, these tools support timely information-sharing, meaningful engagement, and alignment around our shared mission.
Official campus communication channels
Our primary channel for official university updates
Email remains the most reliable way to ensure important information reaches faculty and staff. Calvin uses Axios HQ for concise, scannable, and consistent institutional communication.
What You’ll Receive
- Weekly newsletters: Curated updates highlighting key stories, upcoming events, and campus-wide information.
- Monthly updates: Broader institutional context, division highlights, and leadership communications.
- Targeted announcements (as needed): Messages sent to specific audiences based on role, division, or relevance.
- Emergency or time-sensitive messages: Critical information that requires immediate attention.
What to Expect
- Who receives what: Messages are intentionally segmented so people receive what is most relevant to them.
- Primary channel: Email via Axios HQ is Calvin’s official source for institutional updates. If something is essential to know, it will come through this channel.
- Designed for clarity: Messages are brief, focused, and easy to scan—respecting your time while ensuring understanding.
Engage supports conversation, connection, and shared awareness across campus. While email delivers official updates, Engage is where community life and internal dialogue continue to grow.
How Engage Is Organized
- Staff & Faculty Channels: Spaces for collaboration, discussion, and sharing within and across employee groups.
- Calvin News: Internal news, highlights, and stories relevant to faculty and staff.
- Calvin Matters: University-wide topics that shape our shared work and culture.
- Cabinet Communications: Messages and updates from senior leadership related to strategy, priorities, and direction.
- Division-Specific Groups: Targeted spaces for teams and divisions to share updates, resources, and conversations relevant to their work.
- Commons Lawn: A shared space that includes students—designed for messages and conversations that cross faculty, staff, and student audiences.
Calvin’s website serves as the primary public-facing platform and a key internal resource hub. When in doubt, the website is the most accurate and up-to-date source for institutional information.
What to Use the Website For
- Events calendar (updated regularly and relied upon campus-wide)
- News & Stories highlighting academic, student, and community life
- Academic calendar and key institutional dates
- Major announcements and updates
- Departmental and program pages
What to Expect
- Information on the website is authoritative and current.
- Other channels (email, Engage, screens) often point back to the website for full details.
- Posting information here helps reduce duplication and confusion across channels.
KnightGuard is Calvin’s official emergency communication tool and should be treated as such.
Purpose
- Push notifications during emergencies
- Safety alerts and urgent campus notices
- Additional safety features as available and confirmed
Messages sent through KnightGuard are reserved for situations where immediate awareness and action may be required.
Digital screens across campus support visual communication in high-traffic areas.
Purpose
- Event promotion
- Institutional reminders
- Time-sensitive or seasonal messaging
Campus screens are most effective when paired with other channels (such as the website or email) to reinforce awareness.
These channels are designed specifically for students and play a critical role in campus involvement and student life.
Knight Life (Email and Instagram)
- Run through the Center for Student Engagement
- Primary platform for student events and involvement opportunities
The John
- Student publication and news source
- Covers campus happenings, stories, and student perspectives
Best practices for effective internal communication
Be clear and concise
Share information early whenever possible
Consider your audience and what they need to know
Avoid duplicating messages across too many channels
Coordinate with Marketing & Communications for broad or institutional messaging
Calvin's internal communication philosophy
One community. One mission. Shared responsibility.
Intentional communication helps us stay connected, aligned, and rooted in our shared purpose.
At Calvin, internal communication is more than information-sharing—it’s about strengthening community.
- We are on the same team
- We celebrate one another’s work
- We support cross-campus engagement
- We build understanding through transparency and collaboration
We encourage faculty, staff, and students to:
- Attend events outside their department
- Support athletic teams, academic programs, and student organizations
- Amplify one another’s successes and stories