Communication resources

The following communications resources were compiled for faculty and staff of the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station (MAFES). 

Consistent use of the following guidelines will strengthen our institution’s brand reputation, increasing the value and equity of our work. The goal is not to make all communications look identical, but to make them appear related. Brand consistency helps those without affiliation understand who we are and why we matter.

Acknowledgement of federal capacity grants

All scientific publications, presentations, posters, and related materials produced from a capacity grant (i.e, Hatch, Hatch Multistate, McIntire-Stennis, or Animal Health and Disease) must adhere to standard USDA NIFA funding acknowledgement language in accordance with in accordance with 2 CFR Part 415. The standard language includes the following acknowledgement and disclaimer:

  • Acknowledgement: “This work is supported by the [Hatch, Hatch Multistate, McIntire-Stennis, or Animal Health and Disease], project award no. [MEO-XXXXXXX], from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.“
  • Disclaimer: “Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.“

It is the responsibility of the awardee to acknowledge USDA NIFA support in media articles and interviews that discuss their work with the following statement:

  • “This work is/was supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.” 

When posting on social media use #NIFAimpacts and @USDA_NIFA.

Acknowledgement of MAFES

In addition to adhering to USDA NIFA acknowledgement standards, we require acknowledgement of MAFES affiliation in all scientific publications, presentations, posters, and related materials. Minimally, this should include listing your MAFES appointment in addition to any other appointments. Example:

Bananas B. Bear1,2
1 School of Science, University of Maine, Orono, USA 04469
2 Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station, University of Maine, Orono, USA 04469

Additionally, please use MAFES logos in posters and presentations.

These logos can be added to UMaine or College of Earth, Life, & Health Sciences templates for Powerpoint presentations, research posters, research impact handouts, Zoom backgrounds, etc.

Sharing news and working with the media

You can submit news items by emailing news@maine.edu for publication in the “UMaine news updates” emails and on the UMaine News website. You can email elhresearch@maine.edu as well and we will post items on the MAFES homepage.

All faculty with an MAFES appointment are expected to identify with MAFES when they discuss their research in public and with the press. Examples:

  • Bananas Bear, professor of science at UMaine’s Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station, . . .
  • Bear’s lab, which is part of the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station at UMaine, will . . .
  • Bananas Bear, professor of science at Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station and science specialist with the Science Advancement Institute, both of the University of Maine, . . .

If coverage features research that was conducted on Experiment Station farms or facilities, you are expected to acknowledge that as well. Examples:

  • Bear’s lab and Aroostook Farm are part of the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station at the state’s R1 public research university. 
  • My research was conducted at the Blueberry Hill Farm, which is a Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station facility.

Quick talking points about the Experiment Station are available online here.

Business communication templates

Email signature

Directions about how to add UMaine’s logo to an email signature are available here. Under the “Business and correspondence templates” sub-header expand the “Email signatures” tab.

All faculty with an Experiment Station appointment are expected to include this affiliation in their email signature. Those with split appointments should list their majority appointment first. Examples:

Bananas T. Bear, Ph.D. (they/them)
Professor of Science
School of Science • Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station
Science Specialist
Science Advancement Institute
University of Maine • 1234 Winslow Hall • Orono, ME 04469
umaine.edu • bananas.bear@maine.edu • 207.581.0000

Bananas R. Bear, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Science, School of Science
Faculty, Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station (MAFES)
Fellow, George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions
Associate, University of Maine Climate Change Institute
umaine.edu • (207) 581-5555 • University of Maine • 1234 Winslow Hall • Orono, ME 04469

Stationary

UMaine letterhead, envelopes, business cards, notecards, mailing labels, memorandum forms, fax cover sheets, personalized notecards and other UMaine stationery items are printed at Printing Services here. They have templates for quick turnaround.

Those in need of electronic letterhead may download the following Word document. Letterhead may only be used by University of Maine faculty and staff for official university correspondence.

Communication-related policies

Required non-discrimination notice

All bulletins, event flyers, announcements, publications, catalogs, application forms, or other recruitment materials that are made available to students, employees, applicants, or program beneficiaries must include the UMaine non-discrimination notice. The current version is available on the Office of Equal Opportunity website.

Guidance regarding political engagement

If UMaine employees wish to become involved in partisan political activities, they must do so on their own time, without using System or University funds or resources of any kind. When exercising their rights to participate in the political process as individuals, employees should emphasize that their comments or actions are their own, unless they have been specifically authorized to speak or act on behalf of a System institution. Additional information is available here. 

Recording virtual events to post online

If you plan to record a virtual event and may share it online, the event’s host must:

  • Obtain permission to record the event from all participants if they plan to publish a recording online. Zoom offers an option to enable a recording disclaimer in its settings. Events may also be hosted as a webinar, rather than a meeting event, to negate this requirement. This guidance was developed in response to questions about events like seminars. Additional guidance regarding virtual events that involve students is available on the UMS IT website.
  • Obtain a completed copyright license agreement from speakers who are not affiliated with the University of Maine.
  • A photo release is recommended for speakers, regardless of whether they work for the university.

Use of UMaine facilities by visual media professionals

A filming crew of any size (from one to many people) must complete this form and provide proof of insurance as described in Section 6 of the form. If the videographer makes any changes to the document’s contents the changes must be approved by UMS legal counsel prior to filming. Certificates of insurance must be provided to the UMS Risk Manager at least 30 days prior to filming. This requirement also applies to the press unless they are filming in parts of campus that are technically public property, like driveways and walkways. Obtaining stock footage or recording for non-news purposes will require an agreement regardless of location.

Photo and video release forms

It is best practice to obtain a photo and video release from anyone of any age, regardless of their affiliation with the university, if they are identifiable in photographs or video that may be published at some point. The form is available to download here.