UMass Magazine Online

Spring 2004

Departments

Around the Pond

Features

The Wildest Place in Boston

Manhattan's Hottest Property

Setting the Record Straight

Around the Pond

Home Sweet Home Page




	Web developers Keith Paul ’98 and Nina Sossen put the finishing touches on the new www.umass.edu home page. (photo by Ben Barnhart)

AFTER A YEAR IN THE MAKING, the new UMass Amherst home page is not your ordinary facelift. Officially launched in May, the site has a new structure and increased functionality. In reality-TV-speak, this is an extreme total makeover.

Students, staff, faculty and administrators have been part of the process to redesign and reconfigure www.umass.edu, also known as the Gateway. “One of the key new features of the site is the events calendar,” says Nina Sossen, web communications manager, who has led the revamping efforts. “Anyone can submit events to the calendar and to its companion news section.”

Sossen said Chancellor John V. Lombardi challenged the design team to create a calendar to help unify the campus community. Now visitors to the site can search for events by keyword, subject or date, and browse weekly and monthly listings. Current and archived news stories are searchable, too.

The new “YouMass” section targets students with special links and features. A lively grid layout uses eye-catching colors and easy-to-navigate windows. At the suggestion of students, the page features the latest student events, current weather, and a quick-answer guide to questions about life at UMass Amherst called “Ask Sam the Minuteman.”

Home Sweet Home Page

Home: larger image

Quiz Thyself

The Vanishing Snows of Kilimanjaro

Vanishing Snows: more images

The Highest Honor

Highest Honor: larger image

A Feast Fit for a Patriot