On August 13, 2009, the Marketing & Communications department, in collaboration with OIT, completed the migration of the Seattle University website (www.seattleu.edu) to the Ektron Content Management system. This project consisted of the redesign and migration of every SU academic and administrative web site. In all, 166 websites were migrated to the new content management system. Within these 166 websites were 9,321 web pages, 161 web forms, 56 multimedia items, 6,223 images and 3,373 documents.
The Ektron content management system provides Seattle University with a single system for creating and managing the content on our websites. Offices and departments can now manage their own websites in an easy-to-use web interface and without advanced technical training. Gone are the days of needing to learn Dreamweaver or become an HTML programmer.
When the project was launched in August 2008, based on the scope of the effort, the original completion date was scheduled for January 2010. Thanks to the good work of all involved, continuous learning and improvements during the phases of the project, the additional help of OIT student employees, and an excellent partnership between all departments, we were able to accelerate the schedule to be completed prior to the start of the Fall 2009 quarter. Four months ahead of schedule! Kudos to all involved.
The completion of this project is a milestone for Seattle University. The proposal for a Content Management System was first discussed in December, 2003. Through changes in committees, personnel, priorities, technologies and more, the Content Management System is now live and providing benefits to Seattle University.
Special recognition is due to Soon Beng Yeap of Marketing and Communications for his leadership on this project. In addition, Eli Christopher of Marketing and Communications served as Project Manager with Eric Larsen of OIT as the Technical Lead. The working team was also comprised of Natalie Greco of Marketing and Communications along with Mike Dommer, David Castillo, Kevin Chang and Hiroko Narimatsu of OIT. The Implementation Team who provided guidance and direction throughout the project included: Soon Beng Yeap – Marketing and Communications, Kristin Cheney - Law School, Dan Duffy – Office of Information Technology, Bob Duniway – Planning Office, Nancy Gerou and Romando Nash - Student Development , Barbara Hauke – Albers School, Linda Hulten and Brian McGuire – University Advancement, Aren Kaser – College of Arts and Sciences, Kurt Lorenz – School of Theology & Ministry, Melore Neilsen – Undergraduate Admissions, SusanEllen Bacon – College of Education, and Janet Shandley – Graduate Admissions.
On behalf of the OIT department, thank you to all those on campus who have been involved in this project, attended the Ektron training, or are now managing the content on their departmental web pages. Your partnership, professionalism and collegial spirit are much appreciated.
For more information about the Content Management System project please visit http://www.seattleu.edu/cms.