Almost 1,000 alumni responded to a Hendrix Magazine readership survey in late October and early November 2009. You told us what you liked about
Hendrix Magazine – and what you didn’t. Thank you!
The redesigned magazine you hold in your hand is a direct result of your input.
You told us you were most interested in alumni activities and accomplishments, profiles of alumni and faculty, and historical features. You said that life in the residence halls was an important part of your Hendrix experience and that you wanted to know what it was like for today’s students. You mentioned that you would like to read articles written by other alumni with diverse viewpoints and unique voices.
You also told us that your time at Hendrix was fun and that the magazine didn’t capture that feeling of fun and excitement you remembered.
More than 150 of you shared specific suggestions for stories or new recurring features. All of your ideas and suggestions were reviewed and a number of them are reflected in this edition.
Among the ideas you suggested that you’ll find in this edition:
- An old photo of a spot on campus, paired with a photo of the same spot today.
- Stories about residence hall life and traditions
- A look back at the 1984 basketball team
- Stories written by Hendrix alumni
- A student-taken photo that captures a little of the fun of campus life
We shared the survey results with the Alumni Board of Governors, and the board’s Communications Committee provided helpful feedback on our redesign plans.
The most obvious changes are a fresh new design, new typography and a new size. This edition of the magazine is slightly wider than previous issues and has more pages. The typeface used throughout the publication is FF Meta, which has both a serif and a sans-serif version, along with numerous other variations. Photos are larger and stories are a bit shorter. We’ve included more alumni profiles and tried, as we select our stories, to be more conscious of the varying interests of Hendrix alumni, who are some of the most diverse and eclectic people on the globe.
Expect to find more of your ideas and suggestions in future editions. The magazine will continue to be a work in progress, evolving with each edition. We hope we can count on your continued feedback to help us create the kind of magazine that you want to read and share with others.
Please respond to future surveys with your thoughts and e-mail or call with your comments on this edition.
In future editions, we hope to fill this space with alumni-written essays that either reflect on your time at Hendrix or discuss how the Hendrix experience influenced the course of your life. Submissions (electronic preferred) for the Fall edition should be received by the editor no later than Sept. 1, 2010. We look forward to sharing your writing with your fellow alumni.
We also encourage you to check out Hendrix Magazine on the Web at www.hendrix.edu/hendrixmagazine. You’ll find "Web extras," including longer versions of some magazine stories and other materials that enhance what you’ve seen in the print version. We intend to make further enhancements and upgrades to the Web version as we move forward.
Thank you for your involvement in Hendrix and for the time you spend reading
Hendrix Magazine. Keep talking to us about what you want. We’re listening!
Helen S. Plotkin, Editor
plotkin@hendrix.edu