Meet the VP for marketing and communications
Vision and goals
Our vision guides our work
The vision of the Office of Marketing and Communications is to inspire audiences near and far to connect and engage with the University.
“We will create a narrative that enhances the University’s reputation as a trusted and influential institution which, within the evolving landscape of higher education, is more important than ever.”
Learn more from Page Hetzel, the University’s first VP for marketing and communications, about the vision and future of our office in the video above.
Transformation: New name, new capabilities, new leadership
In addition to our existing areas of expertise in communications, we’re adding a new marketing function to the office, setting us up to successfully carry out our mission to inspire, connect, and engage.
We’re being led by the University’s first VP for marketing and communications, who joined Rochester in late 2023.
This culminates in the new name for our office: University Marketing and Communications.
Shifting our focus and approach
We’re changing more than our name. We’re also reimagining what we do and how we do it.
Internal
Internal and External
Regional
National and Global
Functional
Audience-centric
Siloed
Matrixed
Reactive
Proactive
Service Provider
Strategic Enabler
Our goals and roadmap
Our office has two main goals:
- Lead institutional marketing and communications efforts
- Create a unified network of communicators
Each of these goals has detailed plans in place to achieve success—all with our vision at the forefront.
Goal #1: Lead institutional marketing and communications efforts
We’re building a marketing function that significantly increases the awareness and perceptions of the brand.
We’re creating a strategic communications function that codifies an internal message framework and guides large-scale integrated projects.
We’re creating a digital ecosystem (web, social, email, search) that reaches and engages internal and external audiences, as well as builds affinity.
We’re forming a content strategy and team to create multimedia stories that showcase our research, student experiences, and news.
We’re expanding the use of social media by developing channel-specific strategies and advanced sentiment tracking.
We’re transforming public affairs and executive communications to be more proactive while tightening reactive efforts.
Goal #2: Create a unified network of communicators
We’re building an ecosystem of marketing and communications professionals across the University that is unified and high-functioning.
We’re creating a program to connect with business partners that increases collaboration and better prioritization of efforts.
We’re defining the role of the central team, and creating a shared services model that efficiently provides resources for the right work at the University.
We’re developing new business processes that will enable the team to become a proactive, matrixed, results-driven organization.
We’re investing in individual and team development and training to become a high-performance organization.