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Rachel, I am gather that this is more of a schematic than a layout (as in this is to show basic hierarchy and general layout, but not exact proportions and design)
It might help at this point to put up a site map, I think it will help people get a better understanding of the site. I am also interested to know more details of the goals of the site.
Anyways, here is my overall feedback:
This site needs an H1, I am guessing that the welcome to the new online home is a featured article (and I think that the h1 shouldn't go there, you wouldn't want the h1 to be hidden, and that would be a great place to display more current information on page load), that will eventually change out. The h1 doesn't have to be very prominent, but it should be above the fold. I also think the h1 would be very helpful in explaining what your organization does. This h1 is also one of the most important things to include for good SEO.
One thing that confuses me with the site is why there is a different top level navigation in the footer than in the main nav in the header. Are those items with the nav at the top? If so, I have no clue where.
As I said before, without a top level nav, I don't have a holistic view of the site, but from what I see I think you might want to consider adding a second tier of navigation in the main nav. Look at some bigger sites (NY Mag does a great job with this). From what I see, the site is huge, and it would help the user understand what is in the site by breaking it up a bit, but you should be able to get anywhere in the site from the main nav.
One thing I really like about the site is that you have really started to think about how to consolidate information and make your site as concise as possible. Using related links in the section header is always a smart move for a busy homepage.
I also really like the callouts to the right of the slide show. That gives a great option to have unhidden content that can be prominent and relevant. Compared to the slideshow that helps build the organization's brand.
Overall, I like where the site is going, and would be interested to see how this progresses.
Good luck!
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1
This area can probably be unified
Think about combining the news and blog posts. Usually only one outlet is needed for companies.
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2
Unify the footer
Perhaps it's just visual representation of the footer, but I would unite all of these three boxes into one with a different background. All of this is utility functionality and eliminating "boxing" will make the design look cleaner.
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3
Good placement of search box
The search box is right where users expect it. On the other hand, "Search:" label is really not needed here.
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1 liner menu
I would go with a 1 line menu. I don't know if it's possible but it would make the menu more easy to scan and more room on the page.
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5
Great headline
Great bold headline that's screaming "read me" :)
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6
Action areas / buttons
Try to make the most important stand out. Else, there are to many action buttons next to each other.
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Not related
These 2 do not releate with eachother ... separate it, or move it elsewhere.
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8
Not noticeable
There links are barely noticeable. Maybe place a similar link at the very bottom of the article box, this is where users expect it.
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9
Rename it
Try "read more", its an descriptive action. Will generate more clicks.
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10
Why no title here?
It seems inconsistent with the boxes on the right and left. Unless you want to make it less noticeable / important.
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11
Combine
As Aurimas already said: Try to combine these. It would make them more interesting to read (more content).
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12
Thumbnails
Add more thumbnails to the page or else it will look dull lilke a newspaper column.
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13
Move it to the top
Bump this up ... this is how the user interacts with your site. It's important.
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14
Language
Language selection here? Why?
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Integrate
Integrate these into a separate area. I don't have any brilliant ideas, but it's a mess right now. Maybe adding some of them to the main menu (drop down)?
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16
Test
Test
