UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Revitalizing UC Social Sciences Division: STAUFFER’s Unified Digital Platform
Services
- IA & UX Strategy
- Content Planning
- Design
- Drupal Development
- Training Videos
- Ongoing Support
Industry
- Higher Education
Key Results
- Launched 20 sites in four months.
- Enabled independent content updates.
- Unified platform at single-site cost.
- Improved performance and branding.
- Achieved WCAG compliance for entire Division
Background
The University of Chicago’s Social Sciences Division is one of the great American hubs of critical inquiry and transformative dialogue. Spanning various disciplines—from anthropology to economics and political science to sociology—its mission is to foster interdisciplinary work that challenges and expands the boundaries of conventional thought. Under the leadership of Dean Amanda Woodward, this division is not a single academic entity; it’s a forum of more than 25 distinct departments. The Dean wanted each department to share its unique online identity while still being anchored to the university’s legacy and image.
Challenge
The Division required a solution that upheld The University of Chicago’s visual identity while allowing for departmental customization. They needed a modular, user-friendly platform enabling department staff to update content and modify site layouts independently, without relying on developers or technical support.
Additionally, the solution had to ensure shared content-building tools across departments to prevent server slowdowns from duplicate information. This approach needed to balance departmental autonomy with the university’s design standards, ensuring cohesive branding and optimal performance.
Development
To address the challenge of building cost-effective, scalable sites without compromising performance, we utilized Drupal and its modular Paragraph system. This approach allowed us to create a flexible, Lego-like structure where design components and layouts could be easily added or adjusted across departmental microsites.
We developed a range of design comps and layouts that could be seamlessly integrated, ensuring each department could tailor their site to their specific needs without affecting overall performance.
Solution
STAUFFER and The University of Chicago Social Sciences Division successfully launched 20 microsites in just four months using this streamlined, cost-efficient strategy. By planning and developing the individual microsites in advance, we ensured a smooth and rapid deployment. We also provided comprehensive video tutorials for the university’s faculty on using the Drupal Paragraph architecture we designed.
This approach allowed the Social Sciences Division to integrate all its units into a modern, accessible, and up-to-date web platform for the cost of a single enterprise-level site, saving the university hundreds of thousands of dollars in development, design, upkeep, and server usage.
