Appellation Cornell has served several audiences:
- researchers and industry outside of New York are informed about activities and impact of Cornell researchers and staff
- prospective and current students are informed about the program at Cornell
- grape trade publications read Appellation Cornell and have written five articles and updates based the newsletter's content
- the 'Research In Plain English' feature, two page non-technical summaries of journal articles published by faculty and staff, make research accessible to industry
- 'Grapes 101', short articles with concise descriptions of management-related concepts in vine physiology and winemaking practices, is the most popular feature
- articles have been reprinted in three extension newsletters in other states and posted on the e-extension grape community of practice
- the e-mail list has expanded from 1000 to 1800 in the first year. Each e-mail has a 40 percent response with recipients accessing at least one article
impact statement issue
Cornell's viticulture and enology program expanded starting in 2006 by hiring five new faculty members and establishing a new major in the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Faculty and staff needed a communications venue that was broader than regional extension newsletters to communicate the breadth of the program, recruit students, and highlight the program's connections with the grape and wine industry in New York and nationally.
impact statement response
Starting in 2008, we met with Cornell University's Communications Services to propose the newsletter, Appellation Cornell. Communications staff and the editorial board, representing research, extension, and teaching programs, developed a format for content and integrated it into the CALS viticulture and enology web site. An editorial board seeks article ideas from 30 faculty and staff, faculty, editors, and a staff writer, then write and edit the articles. The newsletter is sent to subscribers quarterly via e-mail with links to the Appellation Cornell website. These research articles and briefs are often captured for permanent availability and topically indexed on other web sites.
impact statement summary
The viticulture and enology steering committee created a quarterly electronic newsletter, Appellation Cornell, to provide in-depth research articles written for laypersons, as well as faculty profiles, student profiles, industry profiles, and brief articles to highlight research, extension, and teaching activities of Cornell's Viticulture and Enology Program to a national and international audience. In its first year, readership comprised 1000 to 1500 online subscribers in 45 states, three Canadian provinces, and Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Fifty articles were published in 2010.
