Do you have an announcement for the Harvard Medical School community?

The Office of Communications and External Relations (OCER) offers a number of channels to help you get the word out about events, general announcements, and opportunities. Follow the guidelines on this page and use the following links to submit your announcement.

If you have questions, please contact us at communications@hms.harvard.edu.

Event promotion and community announcements

Guidelines for submitting an event, announcement, or opportunity to MyHMS

The best way to reach the HMS community is through MyHMS, an e-letter sent to Quad faculty, staff, and students on the first and third Friday of each month, except December.

  • Submissions must be received by noon on the Friday prior to the first or third Friday of the month.
  • Your announcement may be advertised twice. You will be prompted to list the two dates you would like your announcement published.
  • Posts are categorized in four sections: announcements, funding opportunities, career development, skills and training, and upcoming events.
  • A web address or link to the HMS event calendar must be included with your submission. Announcement headlines will be linked to the web page you provide.
  • The announcement headline is limited to 60 characters; the body (for general announcements) is limited to 750 characters.
  • OCER will evaluate, edit, and approve all submissions.

Guidelines for requesting an email to the HMS community

OCER is responsible for centrally coordinating and sending community emails on behalf of most HMS offices and units (those who do not have the access to send themselves). We make every effort to keep the HMS community informed and engaged while also being mindful of email volume and inbox overload.

If you would like OCER to send a standalone email to HMS Quad and/or affiliate-based faculty (including postdoctoral fellows), staff, and/or students, please complete this form to request a community-wide email.

Please note:

  • To avoid inbox overload, HMS events are featured on campus digital signage, the intranet, the HMS calendar, and in MyHMS, the official internal School e-letter sent on the first and third Friday of every month to Quad faculty, postdocs, staff, and students. Complete this form to request a posting in MyHMS.
  • Community-wide announcements about leadership transitions (new hires and departures) are limited to academic deans and administrative officers (as listed on the HMS Leadership webpage), as well as Quad-based preclinical department chairs.

Guidelines for community emails

  • Lead time: Completed community email request forms must be received at least seven business days in advance of your preferred send date to allow time for review, approval, planning, and setup.
  • Send date: We will do our best to accommodate your preferred send date. However, we may need to adjust the date and time to avoid overlapping emails and overfilling inboxes. The earlier you submit your request, the better chance of getting your preferred send date.
  • Audience/recipient list: OCER can send to HMS Quad and/or affiliate-based faculty (including postdoctoral fellows), staff, and/or students. If you would like to send to any other distribution lists, you will need to provide OCER with a CSV file containing email addresses only.
  • Subject line: Seven words or 25-30 characters is ideal for best overall engagement.
  • Reminder/follow-up emails: OCER will send one initial email and one reminder for event invitations and other deadline-driven initiatives. For online/livestreamed events open to the HMS community, we will also send one additional email the day before or the day of with the meeting link.
  • Email copy: Please submit only approved, final copy. We will assume that what you have submitted is ready for preparation and distribution after copyediting.
  • Copyediting: We will copyedit submitted copy and may make minor edits for clarity and accessibility, and to align with OCER style guidelines.
  • Attachments: Attachments should be limited and should not contain additional information that is not in your email, to ensure that community members using a screen reader have access to all information.
  • Testing: OCER will send a test email prior to distribution to the contact person listed on the submission form. At this stage, reviewers should identify errors with the layout, but should not make substantial changes to the copy. Your email will be scheduled for distribution once we have received your written approval.

Process for community emails

1. Fill out the community email request form and submit at least seven business days prior to your preferred send date. Please allow two business days for review by the internal communications team.
2. If your email is approved, we’ll send you a test version, which may include minor edits for clarity and accessibility.
3. You review and approve the test. Please note that delays in review and approval may impact your send date or time.
4. OCER will schedule the email for delivery.

Please note: OCER requires a minimum lead time of seven business days to prepare, edit, internally test, and get final approval on an email. Your preferred distribution date may be affected by other previously scheduled communications, delays in review, approval of the test email, and other factors beyond our control. We will be able to confirm the date and time that your email will be sent once we receive your test approval.

Guidelines for submitting to campus digital signage

The HMS Office of Communications and External Relations manages the content for 8 large digital screens located in buildings across the HMS campus. Content on the screens is reviewed, managed, and uploaded by OCER.

Please note that the NRB digital display is solely dedicated to School branding and OCER content and, as such, is not reservable.

Announcements and event notices intended for members of the HMS community and sponsored by HMS Quad departments and offices can be submitted using the submission form for HMS digital signage.

In order to maximize the effectiveness of the digital screens as a promotional tool, posts will be displayed for a two-week period prior to your event or deadline. Announcements are not posted more than a month in advance.

Digital signage requirements and best practices

  • Submit only JPG files with a horizontal image 1371 pixels wide x 772 pixels high or a 16:9 (widescreen) ratio. Include pertinent details: date, time, location, and website or email for further information.
  • Deliver a clear, concise message in as few words as possible. Slides appear on screen for only 12 seconds at a time. Don’t clutter your designs with too much text.
  • Use the 3 x 5 rule: no more than three lines of text of five words each OR five lines of text of three words each.
  • Choose sans serif fonts (Helvetica, Arial) over serif fonts (Times New Roman) for a cleaner look that is easy to read. Don’t use more than two fonts per slide.
  • Please make sure you have permissions to use an image or confirm whether HMS is licensed to use an image. Submissions are reviewed by OCER staff and may be edited to adhere to the formatting parameters of the technology.