Thank you to those of you who participated in the Hollins magazine survey. Every one of your comments is valuable, and we will be taking them all into consideration as we continuously improve your alumnae magazine.

For 115 years, Hollins magazine has been produced with its readers foremost in mind. We’re always grateful for your ongoing support of the university and continued input. We had a tremendous response to the survey, with 465 of you giving us your valued opinion.

A sample of responses is captured here in this feature. More can be found in the online version of the summer magazine.

Here are some highlights of what we learned:

You read it and you read all of it
66% of you read every issue
75% of you read most of it or all of it

You keep it around
30% of you keep an issue on hand up to one month, and 50% of you more than a month

You spend time with it
60 minutes or more  –  28%
30 to 59 minutes  –  41%

Most of you prefer print
Print  – 77%
Both print and online –   20%

What do you like best about the online version?
Ease of use and navigation excellent/very good – 56%
Use of multimedia (photos, videos) – 51%
Layout and design – 53%

Your comments line up closely with our sense of your preferences and reaffirm our belief that much of the magazine’s success depends upon its editorial diversity. Here are a few anonymous representative comments:

What do you like most about Hollins magazine?

• Reading about people I knew there and about positive changes or accomplishments at Hollins.
• I like finding out how the story of Hollins is changing, especially what other alums are up to and the activities of current students.
• It makes me feel like I have an inside look to what is happening on the campus.
• Learning about new initiatives on campus, hearing from current Hollins students, professor profiles, learning about inspiring alumnae—particularly in the sciences.
• The updates on interesting things that alumnae and professors are doing. Spotlight articles on changes and innovations around campus are great too.
• Class News! Even with social media, I love reading about the other classes. I also love the articles about Hollins and Hollins women.
• Love reading the alumnae letters at the end as well as information about teachers/places on campus. It’s nice to feel connected.
• Hearing alumnae stories about how Hollins women are making a difference in the world.

What do you like least about Hollins magazine?

• The extremely long delay between the time an alum sends in her news for a class letter and the time she finally sees it in print.
• Wish there were more stories about alumnae successes…not just the award winners, but those who are quietly leading in their communities too.
• I would like to read more about what the professors are doing and thinking.
• Please ensure a continuous focus on diversity of those highlighted, including from various socio-economic backgrounds.
• Need more about the amazing professors and research. The things that make Hollins Hollins.
• It would be nice to see a little more about alumni of the graduate programs.
• Need news of Hollins athletes.

What stories interest you?

• Campus history
• Individual alumnae profiles
• Class letters
• Stories about academic or faculty accomplishments

88% of you agree that Hollins magazine strengthens your connection to the university.

Suggestions for improvement include:

• Show us the student side of Hollins so we can see how things are alike or different from when we were attending.
• I’d love to hear what’s going on with other departments.
• I want to see more diversity in alums in every demographic.
• I would like to see profiles of ordinary alumnae to hear how Hollins has shaped our daily lives.
• Don’t ignore the accomplishments/work of alumni from the graduate programs.
• I’d like to see more diverse stories about alumnae reflected.
• Have a space somewhere online where alums and the Hollins community can anonymously submit article ideas.
• Would like the online version to be more easily viewed on mobile devices.
• More photography and stories around campus traditions.
• Include more info on young alumnae accomplishments.

Rest assured we have read each and every comment you submitted carefully. We have already talked about ways to fine-tune our content to meet your desires.

We promised Hollins swag bags to five of the survey respondents. The winners, who have been notified by us personally, were selected by a random drawing from respondents’ names and email addresses. They are Liz Spencer ’81, Lydia Everton ’69, Missy Green ’97, Christina Easterly ’04, and Sabrina Elise Barnett ’10.

We have fun working on the best possible alumnae magazine we can bring you. A lot of that has to do with our affection for Hollins and being able to share the rich and textured Hollins experience with you. We want you to feel close to this university, to friends and community, to the intellectual excitement and time-honored traditions. The magazine tells stories, offers a dynamic exchange of viewpoints, and lifts up youthful ideals, abiding values, and new horizons.

Thank you for taking the survey, your patience as we move forward, and your ongoing support of Hollins magazine and the university.

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