Over the course of Fiscal Year 2024, The Chicago School amplified its voice through a comprehensive, coordinated approach to stakeholder engagement.
“The relationships that we’re building today across government and media serve as the cornerstone of the realization of our commitment to community impact,” says President Michele Nealon, Psy.D. “These partnerships help us bring our expertise out into the community to make a major difference for those in need.”
Through proactive public relations strategies across the country, The Chicago School’s media reach more than quadrupled over the last three years. Specifically, media reach measured 800 million in 2021, 2.65 billion in 2022, and 4.32 billion in 2023, according to The Chicago School’s 2023 annual report.
Within these efforts, highlights include President Nealon’s nine features on Fox affiliates in Chicago and LA, where she demonstrated thought leadership on key topics such as parenting approaches and self-care.
Denise Diaz, director of Public Affairs at The Chicago School, sees a clear impact with this expanded media reach. “For so many, it’s tough to access reliable mental health guidance,” she says. “There’s so much out there on the internet, for example, but it’s difficult to determine what’s true and what’s not. So it means a lot when we can provide trusted guidance via accessible local television news platforms. People across our communities get a level of mental health support that they would otherwise have to spend much more time to sift through the noise to find.”
In addition, The Chicago School cultivates relationships with local, state, and federal policymakers. These relationships help the university advocate for policy outcomes that will most benefit students and communities. For instance, the university is now working to secure the passage of expanded student loan repayment programs and increased funding to support the integrated health care workforce.
The university has also had the opportunity to welcome many of these stakeholders to campus to learn more about The Chicago School’s impact. For example, The Chicago School hosted Sen. Dick Durbin at its Chicago Campus for a conversation with President Nealon and university students.
President Nealon underscores the value of these partnerships for the university’s future impact. “Through these policymaker partnerships, we demonstrate that The Chicago School is a true thought leader in both higher education and integrated health,” she says. “This increases our ability to push forward key policy conversations that will benefit our students and our broader communities.”