April 20, 2026 Marketing and Communications Update

Howdy, University MarComm Community,

As we approach the close of the semester and look ahead to the next year, we’re focused on aligning and advancing Texas A&M University’s brand at scale. At the upcoming MarComm Summit, we’ll share a forward-looking view of our priorities, including early plans for the university’s 150th anniversary — an important milestone that will serve as a platform to honor our legacy while elevating our national presence and future impact. Together, this work reflects our continued commitment to evolving and activating the brand with clarity and consistency, ensuring that wherever Texas A&M shows up, we do so with purpose and as a force for good.

RSVP for MarComm Summit

Texas A&M marketing and communications professionals are invited to the 2026 Marketing and Communications Summit taking place June 1-2, 2026. Space is limited, so please RSVP.

Summit at a glance

• Dates:
  • June 1, noon-5 p.m.
  • June 2, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., plus optional happy hour
• Location: Memorial Student Center, College Station, Texas
• Lunch will be provided both days

Please complete the registration form by Thursday, May 14, so we can plan for space, catering and name tags.

RSVP for the Summit

If you have questions about the summit or registration, please contact Hallie Jamison, Brand Manager, via email at hajamison@tamu.edu.

Special Recognition

Please join the College of Arts and Sciences in honoring Pam Green, Associate Vice President for Executive Communications, on her retirement and celebrate her 24 years of dedicated service to Texas A&M. Pam’s leadership has left a lasting legacy of excellence, and we are deeply grateful for her contributions.

May 21, 2026 — Rudder Exhibit Hall • First Floor, Rudder Tower, 2 p.m.

RSVP to Pam Green’s Retirement Reception

2026 Fast Company Most Innovative Company Content Package

Fast Company has recognized Texas A&M as one of the Most Innovative Companies in the world — again! The recognition highlights our scale and united purpose to create a brighter, safer world. Explore the content package to see how you can utilize assets and language to share this accomplishment on your channels.

Update: Digital Content Accessibility Deadline Extended to April 2027

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice published an interim final rule extending the compliance deadline for digital accessibility under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For institutions the size of Texas A&M, the original April 2026 deadline has been extended to April 26, 2027. While this additional time provides some welcome flexibility, it is important that the university sustains its current momentum in improving digital accessibility. In particular, federally funded grants and programs remain subject to a May 11, 2026, compliance deadline under Section 504. Previously, this date was not emphasized because it aligned closely with the ADA Title II timeline.

As the university community continues to make meaningful progress toward accessible digital documents and platforms, employees are encouraged to continue using the resources available through the Digital Accessibility website to ensure digital content is accessible to all. By incorporating accessibility into everyday practices, the university ensures that the knowledge gained through teaching, learning and discovery is available to the widest possible audience. Questions regarding digital accessibility and related federal requirements may be directed to the IT Accessibility team.

As a reminder, digital content includes websites, online services, PDFs, social media graphics, videos and any other digital content your unit produces or publishes. We encourage you to review the information shared in the Feb. 9 newsletter about these requirements and to learn how Aggie UX 2.0 can help you and your teams produce responsive, regulation-compliant websites and online services as you move forward. Additional how-tos and step-by-step guides are available through itaccessibility.tamu.edu.

Reminder: Online Aggie Marketing Materials Store Now Open

It’s now even easier to get branded printed materials. We’ve added marketing materials to the existing Integ Punchout, making it simple to browse and order print pieces directly through AggieBuy.

Simply log in to AggieBuy, browse the available materials, select the quantities you need and check out. You’ll be able to see the cost before completing your order, and items will be delivered directly to the location of your choice.

You can find the materials by navigating to:
SSO >AggieBuy >Integ >Texas A&M University >Marketing Materials

Available materials include the following:

• Brand platform book
• Brand platform poster
• Recruitment publications
• Visitor guide

If you do not have direct access to AggieBuy, please contact your designated Finance and Business Services support team member or email aggiebuy@tamu.edu.

We will continue to add more assets to this store and share those assets here as they are added.

Enhancing Delivery of Internal Email Communications

Starting April 9, all current employees will receive their official communications at their NetID email (@tamu.edu), which will be reflected in Workday and cannot be altered by individual employees. A wide group of units are working together to address these challenges, including Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness, Technology Services, the Division of Marketing and Communications, and the Strategy and Insights team, as a direct response to results outlined in the 2025 Employee Engagement Survey.

Community Resources Available to You

Analytics Community of Practice Virtual Event

Join us for the Analytics Community of Practice meeting on Wednesday, April 22, from noon to 1 p.m. CDT, hosted by the Division of Marketing and Communications. Darren Benson, Director of Media Relations for the university’s Division of Marketing and Communications, will explain how his team uses Cision to track and analyze media mentions of the university across print, broadcast and online news outlets. The conversation will include strategies for:

• Searching for specific mentions
• Creating effective keyword searches
• Utilizing Cision’s analytics tools to assess the reach and impact of media coverage

Use the Microsoft Teams link to join the event. For more information or questions about the event or the community of practice, email Patrick Lillard, Director of Analytics and Insights in the Division of Marketing and Communications.

Design Counsel

Design Counsel is a creative space for Texas A&M’s visual storytellers — a place to share ideas, spark inspiration and help shape what’s next for creativity and collaboration across the university. Each meeting dives into a new topic in marketing and communications, with lots of room to learn from one another and offer support.

The next meeting is Wednesday, May 13, in Rudder 301. Hallie Jamison and Katen Adams from Central MarComm will present on influencer marketing, including best practices for integrating this tactic into your team’s strategy. Please RSVP using the link below.

For more information, please contact Melissa Loudermilk, Designer for Brand Services, at mloudermilk@tamu.edu or via Slack or Teams.

Register for upcoming meetings

Internal Communications Community of Practice

Internal communications covers a wide array of responsibilities and expectations among our faculty, staff, students and even external affiliates, and we are here to help! Join us on the first Wednesday of each month, unless it is a university holiday, where we will rotate key topics and offer flexibility in the second half hour to troubleshoot, answer questions and identify ways to support your needs. We will discuss the available channels, best practices for each and what to avoid. We will also provide an opportunity to bring forward questions to help bolster our university community’s tool kit for supporting awareness of important initiatives among our internal audiences.

Join internal comms office hours

Aggie UX Training and Support

The Division of Marketing and Communications Web team hosts virtual office hours every third Thursday from 10 to 11 a.m. These sessions include a different demo every month for using Aggie UX in Cascade, WordPress and Figma. Other practical advice for creating web content, applying best practices and using the Aggie UX design system is available on the MarComm site, including a list of on-demand online trainings. Be sure to sign up for Aggie UX-specific communications by joining the Aggie UX email list.

View Aggie UX Office Hours

Research Communicators Network

The Divisions of Research and Marketing and Communications cohost a biweekly meeting for communicators to connect, share updates and collaborate around promoting Texas A&M’s research enterprise. These meetings are a valuable opportunity for everyone who attends, and we encourage you to send a representative if you do not have someone already participating from your unit, college or school.

When: Every other Tuesday, 10 a.m.

This informal virtual gathering is open to all communicators supporting research initiatives and researchers themselves. It’s a chance to ask questions, get feedback and align on research messaging across the university.

Contact Tim Doty, Assistant Vice President for National Media and Public Relations, or Rusty Cawley, Director of Research Communications, to be added to the calendar invitation.