This document presents the key findings from the 2009 ECAR (EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research) study, "Spreading the Word: Messaging and Communications in Higher Education," by Mark C. Sheehan, with Judith A. Pirani. The study presents a comprehensive analysis of how colleges and universities plan, organize, deploy, and support messaging and communication technologies and provides insights into the level of confidence the institutions have in these technologies, how well the technologies perform, and how the importance and usage of these technologies might change in the foreseeable future. The study is informed by 351 responses to a quantitative survey of EDUCAUSE member institutions, along with 37 interviews with higher education leaders who are especially active in the fields of messaging and communications. (Contains 3 figures and 2 tables.)