University Advancement has created a new magazine aimed at alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends of the University. But Carnegie Mellon Today isn't entirely new. It is a combination of Carnegie Mellon News and Carnegie Mellon Magazine.

Carnegie Mellon Today is the result of feedback from alumni and a study conducted by the Magazine last year. Beginning with its first issue this week, Today will consist of news and arts articles focused around the University. Bruce Gerson, its editor, said the publication will be published every other month. Carnegie Mellon News was produced monthly, while Carnegie Mellon Magazine was published quarterly.

Dave Mills, president of Carnegie Mellon's Pittsburgh alumni clan, received both the Magazine and the News.

“The News [was] good. It [was] quick, to the point, and frequent,” he said. “The Magazine has been well put together, but I think it [was] less about Carnegie Mellon than it could be.”

Mills said that the alumni notes section of the Magazine was very popular. The section contained notices of events in the lives of alumni, like marriages or new jobs. The new magazine will also include such a section.

According to Mills, the University doesn’t keep in touch with alumni enough and should use online communities to promote communication between alums. He noted that Judy Cole, associate vice president for alumni relations, has recently made efforts to improve communication between Carnegie Mellon and its graduates.

Jon Ramer (electrical engineering, ’56) said he receives several publications from Carnegie Mellon each year. He complained that many articles lack depth and do not give readers more sources of information on the topic. He is in search of a very specific type of content.

“[Articles] were written for general distribution, but on a topic which is one of many that I am already close to,” he said. “If someone writes something for us to read, I want not just their name ... but some way to learn more about what they wrote, get back to them, connect with the issues.”

While Today will have both printed and electronic versions, Gerson said the online version will have some exclusive articles or continuations of topics in the printed version.

“We realize we’re not going to hit everyone…,” said Gerson. “The stories will reflect the University’s impact on society and highlight the University’s expertise.”

A significant difference between the two old publications and the new one will be the targeted audience. Carnegie Mellon Today will be mailed to all students as well as alumni, faculty, and staff. The News was mailed primarily to faculty and staff, while the Magazine was aimed at alumni.

“It is a new approach to connect with everybody in the university community: alumni, faculty, staff, students…,” said Gerson. “There’s a lot going on and we’re trying to get the word out.”

This week, students, faculty, staff, and over 26,000 alumni were sent an announcement of Carnegie Mellon Today by e-mail by Elliance, the Pittsburgh company responsible for Carnegie Mellon Today’s web design. The e-mail angered some of its recipients, who perceived it to be spam from an outside corporation. In fact, spam-blocking software stopped some of the messages from being delivered.

Gerson said, “[The e-mail] was thought of as the best way to reach everyone. I realize a lot of people don’t like to get spammed, but this is a new publication that will be going to students for the first time.”

He also said that Today didn’t use on-campus media outlets because he thinks people might not see an ad placed in campus media, or other postings around campus. According to Gerson, 41 percent of the e-mails have already been opened, and less than 1 percent of people opted out of receiving further updates.

John Lerchey, computer and network security coordinator, said he received around 100 messages from members of the campus community about the e-mail.

“A lot of people are considering [the e-mail] to be unwarranted spamming,” Lerchey said. “My take is that it’s probably not spam, but I think a lot of staff and faculty have a lot of questions about what is appropriate.”

Lerchey said there is a lot of confusion as to what authority granted Today the right to do the mailing.

“Does University Advancement have special authority to send anything out like this? It’d be interesting to know,” he said.

Former student and Senior Programmer Analyst at the ASTM Test Monitoring Center Philip Lewis doesn’t think Carnegie Mellon Today acted appropriately.

“Official.cmu-news is a good place for this type of announcement…. It could’ve been announced in the current magazine, or Carnegie Mellon News, or they could have just sent out the new one with a blurb summarizing the change,” he said. “Posting to every single person was a huge waste of bandwidth, disk space, and time.”

Of the old publications, Lewis said, “I think the content was fine. I found some useful articles.”

Carnegie Mellon Today is produced by the University’s Media Relations and Advancement divisions. An official was not available for comment on what impact the new publication might have on future alumni giving.