Communication Fellows | Office of Communications and Marketing

The Auburn University Communications Fellows Program provides faculty with training, best practices and hands-on experience in communicating the impact of their work and expertise to external audiences and in building a national and global reputation for career development, peer engagement and funding success.

Provide strategies, tips and skills for communicating work to non-specialist audiences and engaging external expertise when necessary.
Guide faculty in building and maintaining their national and global reputation.
Supply necessary resources and platforms for faculty to tell their story most effectively and help boost their funding success.
Help faculty shape their messages and find the most practical platforms to reach a general audience.

Knowledge of the necessary approvals for the public release of research stories.
Understanding of university protocol involving crisis-related topics and communications.
A strong grasp of what makes a story newsworthy and how to conduct a media interview.
Best practices for the visual needs of a story in securing media coverage that could reach millions and represent the equivalent of thousands in publicity value.
An understanding of the storytelling and visual communication resources available on campus.
Learn the fundamentals of giving a good speech by attending a free session hosted by the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science (a $4,400 value).
Access to The Conversation, a news pitching service at no charge (a $45,000 value), and participation in a news pitching session with platform's editors.
Exposure to external audiences through inclusion on the Auburn University experts list, proactive story pitching and potential advertising support to boost fellows’ research stories.
Support from Auburn University Libraries for resources on communicating science and learning the importance of ORCID, a unique identifier for researchers.
After program completion, fellows will receive ongoing support from Auburn’s University Marketing and Strategic Communications office, including collaborating to produce a marketing communications plan to promote and publicize work.