Team Blog!
Services Integration Spotlight: Woodruff Health Sciences Center, Emory University
By Uran Piedra
January 12, 2009
Following the August 2008 launch of the redesigned Emory University website using Cascade Server, the Woodruff Health Sciences Center recently underwent a site renovation as well. The redesign, which was integrated by the Hannon Hill Professional Services team, provides Emory with two immense benefits-- the ability to unite of all the insitution's divisions under one enterprise content management system, while also maintaining a consistent look and feel across its branches.
Though a complete revamping of a content rich website from an institution with a highly decentralized model was no small feat, the redesign was made easier by electing to use Hannon Hill's rich and flexible CMS, Cascade Server to manage both the main Emory University site and the Woodruff Health Sciences Center site. Health Sciences Communications Specialist Wendy Darling says of her experience, "I was impressed with Cascade Server from the very first demo, and when it came to actually using the system, Hannon Hill didn't let me down. The system is very well designed – easy to use, intuitive and fast. When Hannon Hill's team told me the basic skeleton of our site was ready, I was able to jump in and get to work right away. The more I worked with the system, the more I appreciated what a great tool it is. A couple of recent upgrades have made me even more impressed. Cascade Server really delivers."
Included in the new site are multiple dynamic regions and RSS feeds that include recent Emory announcements and stories, as well as a 'Newsletters' region that highlights specific news items from the different areas of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center. Additionally, the site contains other impressive features such as an emergency alert system and a more user-friendly information architecture that enables any of the Center's constituents to find specific information with ease.
For more information about the redesign, visit Woodruff Health Sciences Center's About This Site page.
2009 Cascade Server Users Conference - Save the Date
By Chris Armistead
December 2, 2008
With the wealth of informative presentations and fruitful collaborations of the 2008 Cascade Server Users Conference in mind, we've already begun planning the 2009 edition. As the Georgia Tech Conference Center and Hotel was such a fantastic venue, we'll be holding next year's event there as well. The proposed dates for the 2009 Cascade Server Users Conference are Sunday, Sept. 27 - Wednesday, September 30 -- for most of you, that'll mean checking in Sunday evening and spending Monday, Tuesday, and then Wednesday morning learning from and sharing with Cascade clients and the Hannon Hill team.
We'd love to hear your thoughts about those dates; does your organization have anything planned around that time, or are you planning on attending another conference or event that may create a scheduling conflict? If there are pertinent industry events that you're aware of or plan on attending, please let us know. We want to ensure that as many of our clients as possible can attend the 2009 Cascade Server Users Conference. Let us know what you think here in the comments, or feel free to reach me at chris.armistead@hannonhill.com with specific concerns, comments, or date conflicts. We look forward to seeing you all again next year!
50 Sites: The University of Richmond and Cascade Server
By Sam Beresford
November 5, 2008
Founded in 1830, the University of Richmond is a private, highly selective liberal arts university located just west of downtown Richmond, Virginia, and is consistently listed in the top 25 of the U.S. News & World Report ranking of the best liberal arts universities in the nation. Before becoming a Hannon Hill client, the school's web operations faced large hurdles; many websites hadn't been modernized in 4 years and were managed by a patchwork of programs and a homemade CMS, and they were difficult to integrate into the university's overall marketing plan.
After adopting Cascade Server, the university's Web Services Office, led by Eric Palmer, completely modernized and migrated 50 sites to the Cascade Server content management system in less than 3 months. With great support from university president Edward L. Ayers, Palmer led the Web Services team in creating sites like clockwork, keeping a careful eye on precisely what worked and what didn't, and spotting and correcting inefficiencies along the way. Through a centralized coordination of efforts, Richmond's Web Services Office now oversees a network of websites that relies on the adaptability of decentralized content ownership and that broadcasts a consistent marketing message, and has even utilized Cascade Server to publish the course catalogs, both online and in print, of the university's School of Arts & Sciences, School of Law, and Business School.
For more in-depth coverage of some of the innovative ways our clients use Cascade Server to power and manage their web content, check out our latest case study on the University of Richmond.
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