Tom

Web Redesign | Meet Tom Henke

Fun Facts:

  • Started at USF in 1990
  • I’ve worked on every iteration of the USF website since the launch of the internet
  • This is my third time as one of the principal members of the redesign team
  • California all the way, I was born and raised in Fresno, went to UCLA and lived in LA for six years before moving to SF and getting hired at USF
  • I play guitar and have been in several bands since my teen years
  • Kind of a music obsessive — lifelong record collector, constantly reading about music history, critical studies, and I watch a lot of music biographies
  • Married my college sweetheart and have two children, one in college now and one finishing high school
What is your role at USF?
Director of Web Communications. I oversee all things front end, content, and design, for myUSF and usfca.edu. I am the design lead for both websites and manage the producers in WDC. Much of my role is creative problem solving and designing new structures for more effective communications on the website. I also oversee digital signage strategy, am a part of the mobile app team, and frequently do UX work on third party software for integration with USF systems.
What’s something the USF community may not know about web services?
We want to hear from you. We want the community to reach out to us when sites feel stale or out of date so we can improve the web experience. The websites are not static entities and are built to evolve. But web services needs a partner to be successful. Campus stakeholders know the content of their areas and they hear directly from their audience and prospective students, so creating that partnership with offices and programs is a vital part of our work.
What excites you most about the redesign project?
The opportunity to incorporate more modern features into the site. The last redesign process took place six years ago and web tastes and standards have changed a great deal in that time. The process of the redesign is also a great opportunity to look at the site as a whole and rework the structure of it in ways that make content more discoverable and easy to use.
What do you hope comes out of the redesign project?
I hope and expect that we will end up with a site that feels uniquely USF. Something that feels modern, easy to use, and reflects the community, mission and values of this special place.

Anything else you want to share?

I live in Oakland, but still am a fan of all the SF sports franchises. This causes some grief with my friends in the East Bay. A’s fans are a proud bunch!

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