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March 31, 2008
Associate Vice President for Communications
The University of Michigan invites nominations and applications for the position
of Associate Vice President for Communications.
The University of Michigan is one of the great public research universities of
the United States. It serves as a
national model of a complex, diverse, and comprehensive public institution of
higher learning that supports excellence in research; provides outstanding
undergraduate, graduate, and professional education; and demonstrates commitment
to service through partnerships and collaborations that extend nationally and
internationally.
Reporting to the Vice President for Communications, the Associate Vice President
for Communications serves in a leadership role guiding the University’s central
communications efforts, overseeing the University’s News Service, Marketing and
Design, and Media Relations departments, and advising University executives on
issues management. The role of
Associate Vice President also includes integrating communications efforts to
advance the reputation of the University; developing new strategies to position
the University and its strengths in the media; and ensuring accurate and
consistent messaging across internal and external communications channels.
The University of Michigan
The University was chartered in 1817 by the Michigan territorial legislature and
was initially located in Detroit.
In 1837, the State of Michigan renewed the charter and relocated the University
to Ann Arbor, 35 miles west of Detroit.
Today, in addition to its 3,200-acre main campus in Ann Arbor, the
University has regional campuses located in Dearborn and Flint.
Michigan’s position of excellence in higher education rests on the outstanding
scholarly and creative contributions of its faculty and on the intellectual
quality, vitality, and passion of its students—undergraduate, graduate, and
professional. A founding member of
the Association of American Universities (AAU), the University’s nineteen
schools, colleges, and divisions are nationally and internationally recognized.
The University sustains leading programs in the arts and humanities,
social sciences and natural sciences, and in all of the major professional
schools, and it serves as home to one of the largest health care complexes in
the world. The University is also
recognized for its outstanding interdisciplinary research institutes and
centers. Overall, there are
approximately 2,800 tenured and tenure-track faculty on the Ann Arbor campus,
and an additional 2,000 lecturers, clinical instructional faculty, and
supplemental instructional staff.
Each year the Ann Arbor campus enrolls approximately 25,000 undergraduates,
11,000 graduate students, and 3,500 professional students.
Undergraduate students come predominantly from Michigan, but also from
every state in the Union and from more than a hundred countries.
Today, the University has close to 500,000 living alumni around the
globe.
As a public university, Michigan is dedicated to service in the larger world.
Faculty research addresses a large range of critical issues—health care,
the environment, social interventions, educational reform and improvement, and
many others. Students take part in
community-based service and learning projects, and take advantage of
opportunities made possible by the University’s many collaborations with other
universities, colleges, and K-12 schools, as well as with a variety of national,
state, and private agencies.
The University community enjoys a vast array of resources, including libraries,
concert halls, art galleries, and athletic facilities.
Hundreds of conferences, speeches, workshops, performances, and other
events take place on campus each year.
Ann Arbor, with about 115,000 residents, is situated on lush, rolling terrain
along the banks of the Huron River.
Cosmopolitan and sophisticated, yet friendly and accessible, it is one of the
great college towns. Intellectual,
artistic, and recreational opportunities in the broader community abound for
people of all ages. Ann Arbor
perennially ranks in magazine polls as one of the best places in the United
States to live and raise a family.
Communications at the University of Michigan
The Communications Office at Michigan is a strategic service that advances and
promotes the University’s mission, showcasing its activities and achievements to
target audiences worldwide.
Communications provides key messaging and image presentation in web, radio,
television and print for the University as a whole, as well as for many of the
large projects and departments within the University, in addition to supporting
and coordinating the many unit-based communications offices on-campus. Campus
communications needs are served by five departments reporting to the Office of
the Vice President for Communications: Executive Communications, Public Affairs
and Media Relations, Michigan Marketing and Design, News Service, and the Policy
and Administration Office.
David Lampe
was appointed Vice President for Communications in 2007. As the University’s
chief communications officer, he sets and directs the strategic direction of the
Communications Office, leads communications operations and provides counsel to
the University’s executive officers and deans. Prior to his appointment, David
Lampe served as Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at Harvard
Business School. Mr. Lampe has also held senior leadership positions in
communications at Boston University and at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT). Mr. Lampe is an alumnus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, MIT
and Stanford University.
The Associate Vice President for Communications, in this recently re-structured
role, is positioned as a key member of the Communications leadership team and as
second-in-command to the Vice President. The Associate Vice President will work
closely with Vice President and Departmental Directors to lead a large and
complex unit within the greater context of a prestigious public research
university.
Core functions of the Associate Vice President’s position include serving as a
chief counselor to the Vice President on communications strategies,
opportunities, issues management, planning and policies; facilitating
coordinated and integrated communications across the University; and building
and sustaining positive relations with both external and internal
constituencies, including the University’s executive leadership. The Associate
Vice President will also anticipate institutional communications needs and
emerging issues, identify opportunities for enhancing the University’s
reputation, and proactively design the University’s media outreach strategies.
Representing a talented staff of approximately 61 employees, three Departments
report directly to the Associate Vice President for Communications: News
Services; Public Affairs and Media Relations, and Marketing and Design. As
steward of these departments, the Associate Vice President leads a team charged
with enhancing the University’s reputation and visibility locally, nationally,
and internationally and with developing integrated communications strategies
that draw upon all three.
News Services
The News Services staff of twenty-nine promotes the
University of Michigan’s reputation and visibility by highlighting faculty
research in the press and building and sustaining relationships with external
news outlets. News Services’ production responsibilities include the
University Record, an official weekly faculty/staff publication; monthly
alumni newsletter Michigan Today; and online story selections for the
University of Michigan Gateway.
Public Affairs and Media Relations
As the public face and voice of the University, the Office of Public Affairs and
Media Relations anticipates and handles emerging issues and crisis
communications for the University. The office’s five public relations
specialists also respond to media inquiries and provide essential communications
strategy and advice to individuals and units throughout the University.
Marketing and Design
The Marketing and Design Department’s staff of
twenty-seven provides communications services on a fee-for-service basis to the
administrative and academic departments of University, including consultation,
concept development, graphic design, web development and production services.
The Michigan Marketing and Design Portfolio is available at
http://mmd.umich.edu/portfolio/index.html.
The Associate Vice President for Communications will lead News, Public Affairs
and Media Relations, and Marketing and Design in support of the University of
Michigan’s position as one of the world’s leading public institutions of higher
education and research. In this
role, the Associate Vice President will face several key challenges, including
the following:
§
In collaboration with the Vice President, building a
long-term approach to the development and implementation of strategic
communications plans for the University;
§
Fostering a culture of collaboration to enhance the
integration of work by News, Public Affairs and Media Relations and Marketing
and Design;
§
Identifying specific opportunities for collaboration among
central communications, schools, and colleges to ensure a coordinated and
integrated communications effort; and
§
Utilizing broadcast and digital media more effectively and
consistently to promote and support the University’s academic research and
outreach mission.
This challenging position requires exceptional judgment, strong management
skills, an incisive and evolving understanding of media and communications
strategy, and a commitment to public outreach in service of the unique academic,
research, and service missions of the University of Michigan.
Qualifications:
Strong candidates will have senior-level experience in a broad array of
communications functions and will have demonstrated inspired communications
leadership within a top-tier organization. Candidates should have a record of
achievement in the strategic management and integration of highly productive
teams, in a complex organizational environment. Experience with higher education
and a deep knowledge and understanding of the academic mission are strongly
preferred.
Personal attributes:
The new Associate Vice President for Communications will be a manager of
unquestionable integrity and will possess many of the following qualities:
§
Energy, creativity, intellectual breadth and a keen sense
of diplomacy;
§
Significant experience within a top-tier academic
institution and appreciation for the mission and goals of a public research
university;
§
Proven talent in communicating and engaging effectively
with a wide range of constituencies across a diverse academic community;
§
An approach to issues management that anticipates
messaging needs and ensures effective timing of communications efforts;
§
A forward-thinking and creative approach to using evolving
technology to support communications strategies;
§
Proven effectiveness in working collaboratively and across
organizational units to ensure consistency in communications;
§
Demonstrated ability to lead, inspire, and manage strong
and seasoned teams;
§
A consultative, collaborative and collegial leadership
style that expresses a value for civility and professionalism;
§
Sensitivity in balancing institutional transparency with
the need for careful deliberation in communications; and
§
A commitment to the value of diversity in all aspects of
university life.
Nominations and
applications will be accepted and reviewed continually until the position is
filled. The University's dedication
to excellence is complemented by its profound commitment to building and
sustaining a culturally diverse academic community.
Individuals from historically underrepresented groups are encouraged to
apply.
Nominations and/or
applications, accompanied by a letter of interest, current curriculum vitae,
and the names and contact information of three references, should be submitted
to:
Julie
DeSorgher
Auerbach
Associates, Inc.
Belmont,
MA 02478
Electronic
submissions preferred: email
caitlin@auerbach-assc.com