The Vice President for University Communications and Chief Marketing Officer reports directly to the president and is responsible for developing and enhancing the university’s reputation and maintaining excellent outreach and communications with external and internal constituents. This includes oversight and management of the campus’ full service communications and marketing team; encompassing integrated marketing, public and media relations, branding design, licensing and trademarks, video, photography, executive and internal communications, and social media strategy. The vice president is also responsible for significantly increasing visibility and enhancing understanding and support of the university’s mission, vision and academic programs both internally and externally. Duties, responsibilities and qualifications are as follows:

Bachelor’s degree, preferably in marketing, public relations or communication
Increasingly responsible experience in marketing, branding and/or communication
Demonstrated success in marketing, public relations, planning and implementing major external and internal communication plans for large organizations with complex issues
Demonstrated success and expertise in social media
Successful experience as a spokesperson to the media and ability to represent the university to the media
Demonstrated ability to successfully lead, motivate and manage professional staff
Demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion
Proven record of collaborative leadership skills and ability to build positive relationships
Ability to work collaboratively as a member of the executive leadership team
Team player who is highly motivated, a self-starter, and a dedicated professional
Effective verbal and written communication skills
Effective organizational skills
Demonstrated positive interpersonal skills
Demonstrated ability to work on multiple tasks on deadline while directing a team of communications and marketing professionals toward clearly defined outcomes

Master’s degree
Experience working in a Higher Education environment
Proven ability as a marketing strategist with a record of success in branding and positioning

Serves as a member of the university’s executive leadership team and maintains a strong working relationship with the president and key senior leaders.
Serves as the lead spokesperson for the university.
Develops evidence-based strategic communications and marketing programs focused on enhancing CMU’s visibility and name, and highlighting the accomplishments of CMU locally, nationally and internationally.
Responsible for the development and implementation of the overall university marketing, branding and communication strategies, including social media.
Enhances the university’s reputation and increases the visibility and understanding of its mission, vision and academic programs among external and internal constituents.
Leads CMU’s branding strategy and manages associated marketing and communications.
Develops effective internal communications that cultivate awareness of key university issues and builds an open, transparent and collaborative culture across the campus community.
Provides advice and counsel to campus leadership on effective communication strategies.
Educates internal constituents about marketing, branding and communications to increase understanding of the role they play in creating and enhancing CMU’s brand.
Develops, proposes and implements policies, procedures and organization to drive the communications strategies and enable the growth and development of the department.
Leads a diverse department, including directors who provide community and marketing support for the various colleges and other operating units.
Develops planning documents for the department within the guidelines of the university.
Ensures that the material developed by the department is accurate, ethical and meets the marketing and communication goals of the university.
Develops and manages the department budget.
Maintains a strong working relationship with local, regional and state news media and other external constituents.
Provides strategic oversight and development support for key materials (i.e., speeches, testimony, and position papers) for the president and key administrators.
Assists the undergraduate and graduate admissions offices, Innovation and Online, and the academic colleges with their messaging needs. Partners on division and departmental recruitment and yield communication to support the achievement of their long-term goals.
Reviews and assesses digital and social media platforms, which have been and continue to be critical to building national and global brand recognition and continued enrollment success. Assists in and ensures the adaptation and execution of the university’s overall branding strategy to these media to further support the university’s long-term strategic enrollment needs.
Responsible for all promotional materials produced and distributed by the university.
Responsible for visual imagery and the role it plays in the marketplace.
Serves on the university crisis management team, leading the university’s crisis communications and issue management.

Supervisors are expected to support the Leadership Standards of Central Michigan University and foster a culture that inspires excellence. The Leadership Standards define how we lead and treat others in our teams. As leaders, it is our responsibility to seek input from our teams to continuously improve leadership abilities and demonstration of the standards. Additionally, it is our responsibility to encourage and support the growth and development of those whom we lead. At CMU, we encourage employees to grow both personally and professionally, and thus advance CMU’s culture of excellence.

Central Michigan University has a more than 125-year legacy of preparing students to become leaders and changemakers in their communities and in their personal and professional lives.

We serve nearly 15,500 students on our Mount Pleasant campus, in satellite locations around the state and throughout the country, and through flexible online programs. Many of our approximately 300 undergraduate, master’s, specialist and doctoral programs in the arts, media, business, education, human services, health professions, liberal arts, social sciences, medicine, science and engineering are nationally ranked for excellence.

CMU leads the nation in leadership development programming through our Sarah R. Opperman Leadership Institute, and we are proud to be among only 5% of U.S. universities in the top two Carnegie research classifications. Our faculty work with graduate and undergraduate students in areas such as Great Lakes research, medical innovation, engineering technology and more.

Central is home to 17 men’s and women’s Division 1 sports including football, basketball, gymnastics, baseball, wrestling and more. Our student-athletes achieve great success in competition and in the classroom, capturing Mid-American Conference championships and maintaining an average cumulative GPA of 3.17.

CMU is located in Mount Pleasant, a community that blends the best of small-town living with big-city amenities. It’s part of the culturally varied and vibrant Great Lakes Bay Region that also includes Saginaw, Bay City, Midland and the state’s largest Native American community, centered on the Saginaw Chippewa Isabella Reservation in Mount Pleasant.

Area residents enjoy the mix of outdoor activities, cultural events, shopping and dining options, and family attractions. Other major Michigan destinations and attractions — Lansing, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Traverse City, wineries, beaches, golf and ski resorts, and many more — are within easy reach of the city’s central location in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.

CMU employees enjoy access to a nationally recognized wellness program along with health care and benefits that exceed regional, state and national norms.

Central Michigan University is a place where we value students and work for their success, where we act as family, and where employees are engaged, appreciated and have extraordinary opportunities to make a difference.

We intentionally maintain and strengthen the hallmark CMU culture that sets us apart from our peers by expecting CMU leaders and employees to model the following Leadership Standards and develop them within their teams.

Please review the Leadership Standards before applying for this position.

How to Apply

Greenwood Asher & Associates is assisting Central Michigan University in this search. Applications and nominations are now being accepted.

For a full application package, please submit a cover letter and CV. Submission of application materials as PDF attachments is strongly encouraged.

The search will be conducted with a commitment to condentiality for candidates until nalists are selected. Initial screening of applications will begin immediately and will continue until an appointment is made.

Inquiries, nominations, and applications should be directed to Jim Johnsen and Ann Bailey with Greenwood Asher & Associates:

Dr. Jim Johnsen

Vice President of Executive Search & Search Manager
Email: jimjohnsen@greenwoodsearch.com

Cell: 850.687.8911

Dr. Ann Bailey

Senior Executive Search Consultant
Email: annbailey@greenwoodsearch.com

Cell: 850.830.5169

CMU, an AA/EO institution, strongly and actively strives to increase diversity and provide equal opportunity within its community. CMU does not discriminate against persons based on age, color, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, race, religion, sex, sexbased stereotypes, sexual orientation, transgender status, veteran status, or weight (see https://www.cmich.edu/offices-departments/OCRIE).

If you wish to see \“EEO is the Law\” posters, please click here.

CMU does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the education program or activity that it operates, including admission and employment, and is required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 not to discriminate in such a matter.

Inquiries about the application of Title IX can be made to CMU’s Title IX Coordinator, the US Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary, or both.

CMU’s Title IX Coordinator can be reached at:
Phone: 989-774-3253
Office: 103 E. Preston St.
Bovee University Center, suite 306
Mount Pleasant, MI 48858
Email: titleix@cmich.edu