The Brandeis Office of Communications tapped into its creative resources this past summer developing a self-promoting Brandeis YouTube channel that will be released publicly within the next few months, Executive Director of Media and Public Affairs Dennis Nealon said. Nealon described the project as a "tapping of a major media resource in order to tell the true stories of Brandeis University."

Nealon is working on the project with a team of media specialists including Senior Vice President for Communications Lorna Miles, Communications Specialist Marsha MacEachern and University and Media Relations Specialist Max Pearlstein '01.

The project started last spring when Nealon and his team put together their own video news department through a new initiative from the Office of Communications called BrandeisNOW, a series of videos that will be displayed on the YouTube channel.

BrandeisNOW gives outsiders insight into everyday life at Brandeis and features events on campus through videos of performances and speeches, as well as interviews with members of the Brandeis community, Nealon explained. A handful of these videos can currently be seen on Brandeis' main Web site. One video highlights an exhibit on display in the Goldfarb Library that highlights Brandeis' performing arts history. Another BrandeisNOW video interviews students around campus about John McCain's vice presidential choice.

Forbes magazine recently named Brandeis one of the top 15 research universities in the country, and Nealon explained that in order to compete with the larger institutions on the list, the Office of Communications must come up with new and innovative ways to showcase Brandeis to the public and improve the institution's name.

"While we are smaller," Nealon said, "we are also feistier and smarter at tailoring stories for particular markets."

Nealon stressed the importance of Brandeis making a name for itself. "The key is to tell the stories of our own," Nealon said. "We are writers, storytellers, journalists, and thinkers. ... That's what's keeping us ahead of the curve."

The project is "very cutting-edge, in higher education and beyond," Nealon said. The quality will be the same as one would view on the evening news, and with the freedom of the Internet, the viewership could be huge. He predicts a potential audience in the millions, likely from people who view the Brandeis Web site.

Nealon's team has gained a reputation in the New England area as an effective and rising media group.

Karyn Moar, media sales manager for New England Cable News viewed the videos from Nealon and said, "The videos they're creating are excellent. They are of high quality, . and it is clear that the college is making use of their Web site," she said.

Brandeis is not the first university to broadcast videos on YouTube. The University of California at Berkeley created the first major university channel and now hosts over 300 hours of video. Berkeley's channel is geared more toward those already associated with the university, Nealon explained.

A unique feature of Berkley's page is availability of videotaped courses and lectures. Vassar College's YouTube page is strictly for admissions purposes, according to an article on oculture.com.

Marc Eder '12 said he is excited to see the finished product but doubts high school seniors will turn to YouTube to research the University, saying,

"People go onto YouTube to watch mindless entertainment, not serious videos," he said.