In the context of seasons, spring usually garners all the attention for being a time of renewal and growth. But for those of us who work at the University of Alberta, fall marks the real period of rejuvenation. The arrival of September is a time for celebration and renewal. Our campuses once again buzz with activity as students arrive, colleagues return from research trips and holidays, and new spaces and programs launch.
For the last two years, The Quad has been part of the UAlberta digital landscape, building an online gathering place, or virtual quad, for our community. Much in the same way that our colleagues in Facilities and Operations look for ways to improve the physical quads that dot our campuses, this summer, the editorial team at The Quad has taken on the task of making the digital quad a more accessible gathering point for the whole of the U of A community. As a result, today you’ll notice that we’ve made a number of upgrades.
As you look at this post, you’ll notice that we’ve refined our logo, making our content easier to recognize both in your inbox and on the web. We’ve moved to Medium, a platform that has a cleaner and more user friendly layout than in the past, enhancing your experience as readers. This means that images are larger, brighter, and clearer; related stories appear at the bottom of each post. Checking in with your favourite series — be it “In the Community,” “Consider This,” or the popular “Have You Met” — will be easier with improved navigation. With the move to Medium, we’ve also made it possible for those who choose to log in (which can be done using your G-Mail, Facebook, or Twitter accounts) to bookmark stories that they would like to revisit and read later.
The content that you’ve come to know and expect on The Quad will continue to appear. All of our content from our first day of publication to today remains available, and we are looking forward to new stories that will continue to reflect the multitude of U of A experiences.
Thank you for your continued readership, your suggestions, and your willingness to engage. To all of our past and future contributors, thank you for sharing your thoughts and expertise. This is your space, and we hope that you like what we’ve done with it.
Anne Bailey, Hallie Brodie, and Matt McCreary — Internal Communications
The Internal Communications team serve as the editors, moderators, and primary contributors for The Quad, however all members of the U of A community are invited to contribute their ideas and posts for the blog.