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Vice President for Marketing & Communications
Job no: 493963
Work type: Executive Officer
Location: Norman
Categories: Executive
POSITION: Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Introduction:
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a comprehensive public research university with campuses in Norman, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa. Together, these campuses advance the university's mission through undergraduate and graduate education, professional and clinical training, research and discovery, patient care partnerships, athletics excellence, and statewide service.
Enrollment at OU has surged in recent years, pushing total enrollment at all campuses past 36,500 students. The university's six-year graduation rate has climbed from 67% to 75.3% in the past five years.
OU offers more than 180 majors at the baccalaureate level, roughly 200 at the master's level, and about 90 doctoral majors (plus 10 doctoral professional programs) within 20 colleges, supported by more than 2,500 full-time faculty. The university is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities - Very High Research Activity" and continues climbing toward its goal of Association of American Universities (AAU) membership.
The OU Health Campus in Oklahoma City is central to the university's education, research, and public service missions. Its health professions colleges and programs prepare Oklahoma's future health care workforce, advance biomedical and clinical research, and support initiatives that improve health outcomes throughout the state. In collaboration with OU Health, the university's connected academic health system, the campus also contributes to the integration of education, research, and clinical care across the state.
In athletics, the Oklahoma Sooners have won 47 national team championships in program history, including seven in football, eight in softball (with four consecutive titles from 2021-2024), 12 in men's gymnastics, eight in women's gymnastics (most recently in 2025 and 2026), seven in wrestling, three in baseball (most recently in 2026), and two in men's golf; OU has claimed at least one national title in 13 of the last 14 years. In 2024, Oklahoma left the Big 12 Conference to join the Southeastern Conference (SEC), a move that has already boosted national visibility and contributed directly to growing recruitment, including expanded admissions from new states. This athletic profile continues to be a major driver of national brand awareness for the Sooners.
The University of Oklahoma is an institution executing a serious, data-driven strategy to elevate its standing among the nation's leading public research universities. Under President Joe Harroz, OU's strategic plan, Lead On, University, has guided the institution since 2020 and includes five updated pillars organized around the university's enduring purpose, "We Change Lives":

1. Lead as a Top-Tier Public Research University
2. Empower Students for a Life of Success, Meaning, and Impact
3. Ascend as ONE OU - Unified by Purpose, Values, and Strategic Plan
4. Lift the Health of Oklahoma
5. Shape the Future Through Discovery, Creativity, and Innovation

The plan sharpens OU's focus on several defining commitments, including achieving AAU membership; keeping an OU degree affordable, particularly in-state; advancing health outcomes statewide through OU Health, with major cancer-care expansions underway in Tulsa and Norman; and unifying OU's Norman, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa campuses under a single strategic identity. The university also initiated a comprehensive Campus Master Planning process in 2026 to guide long-term physical development of the Norman campus in alignment with these goals.
To fund this vision, OU launched a historic $2 billion fundraising campaign, which has already secured more than $1.9 billion, including a record $427 million in gifts in a single fiscal year.
POSITION REPORTS TO:
The Vice President of Executive Affairs & Chief of Staff. The Vice President of Marketing & Communications is an executive officer and serves as a member of the President's leadership team.
SUMMARY:
Reporting to the Vice President of Executive Affairs and Chief of Staff, the Vice President of Marketing and Communications works closely with the President and his leadership team to develop and execute communications strategies that advance presidential priorities, support enterprise-wide initiatives, and strengthen the university's reputation. The position serves as a strategic advisor on institutional messaging, executive communications, emerging issues, and matters affecting the university's public profile. This leader oversees internal and external communications for OU's colleges, campuses, and business units, ensuring an integrated approach and a consistent, compelling expression of the university's brand.
Three years into the centralization of campus-wide marketing and communications, the Vice President provides strategic reinforcement and services across OU's Norman, Health, and Tulsa campuses, ensuring each campus's distinct mission, audiences, and priorities are represented within a cohesive university-wide strategy. This includes elevating the OU Health Campus's contributions to health professions education, biomedical research, workforce development, and the health of Oklahoma, while coordinating closely with the connected OU Health system on shared priorities and brand alignment.
With responsibility for marketing and communications for OU's three campuses, global and extracurricular programs, and Trademark & Licensing, the Vice President brings together a broad and complex portfolio under a unified strategy. Serving as a trusted thought partner and collaborative leader, the Vice President will work with an extensive network of stakeholders to align priorities, strengthen connections, and deliver clear and cohesive messaging throughout the OU ecosystem.
The Vice President also collaborates regularly with OU's Department of Athletics to integrate the Sooners athletics reputation into the brand of the entire university, while helping navigate the rapidly changing landscape of college athletics and its associated issues in Oklahoma, Washington, D.C., and in statehouses and courthouses across the country.
Overall, the Vice President will provide a commitment to creativity and excellence, which will advance the university's strategic priorities, expand public awareness, and strengthen OU's reputation and opportunities for growth in Oklahoma and beyond. The Vice President will lead the development and execution of innovative, measurable, and data-informed marketing and communications programs aligned with Lead On, University: The Next Phase, OU's refreshed strategic plan. As a trusted advisor and subject-matter expert to senior university leaders, the Vice President will play a critical role in articulating and advancing OU's mission, priorities, and impact among internal and external audiences.
RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Strategically position and advance OU's priorities while leading integrated marketing and communications that reflect the distinct missions, audiences, and contributions of the Norman, Health, and Tulsa campuses.
• Provide counsel and coaching on potential threats and vulnerabilities, as well as tactics to respond to, redirect, or mitigate those challenges.
• Facilitate the relationships between MarComm and the colleges/departments it supports through the still-young centralization of most all campus marketing and communications.
• Work closely with the university's Department of Athletics to predict and shape its responses to the volatile and continuously evolving world of college athletics.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to the President, Chief of Staff, and university leadership on executive communications, institutional priorities, emerging issues, and opportunities to strengthen OU's reputation.
• Partner with academic leaders, Health Campus deans, researchers, and OU Health executives to elevate the university's contributions to education, research, clinical training, workforce development, and the health of Oklahoma.
• Strengthen OU's national and global visibility through compelling storytelling, strategic media relations, brand management, and coordinated communications across its colleges, campuses, athletics programs, and affiliated organizations.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with local and national media outlets.
• Lead crisis and emergency communications, serve as a university spokesperson, and protect the institution's reputation during sensitive or high-profile situations.
• Shape effective internal communications that inform and connect faculty, staff, and students while reinforcing a shared university identity across all three campuses.
• Use audience insights, performance metrics, emerging technologies, and innovative marketing approaches to expand engagement and support institutional growth.
• Lead and develop a high-performing marketing and communications team of nearly 70 employees, managing an $8 million budget and aligning staffing and resources with university-wide priorities.
• Oversee university brand standards, Trademark & Licensing, and related governance, including leadership of the Trademark Administrative Committee.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, public relations, marketing, or a related field, with at least 10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience. An advanced degree is preferred.
• Demonstrated success developing integrated marketing, communications, and branding strategies that strengthen institutional reputation, engage varied audiences, and produce measurable results.
• Experience advising a president, chief executive officer, or other senior leaders on executive communications, institutional priorities, sensitive issues, and crisis management.
• Exceptional judgment, communication skills, and political acumen, including experience managing media relations, navigating high-profile or sensitive situations, and serving as an organizational spokesperson.
• Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing teams, manage resources effectively, and build productive relationships across a complex organization.
• Experience working within a multicampus university, academic health center, research institution, health system, or similarly complex organization is preferred.

WHY YOU BELONG AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA:
The University of Oklahoma values our community's unique talents, perspectives, and experiences. At OU, we aspire to harness our innovation, creativity, and collaboration for the advancement of people everywhere. You Belong Here!
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT:
The University, in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, genetic information, gender identity/expression (consistent with applicable law), age (40 or older), religion, disability, political beliefs, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices, or procedures. This includes but is not limited to admissions, employment, housing, financial aid, and educational services.
Advertised: 01 Sep 2026 Central Daylight Time
Applications close: 01 Jun 2027 Central Daylight Time
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