Vice President for Marketing and Communications

Ball State University seeks a dynamic, experienced, and strategic leader to serve as its Vice President for Marketing and Communications.

Located in Muncie, Indiana, Ball State University serves approximately 20,000 undergraduate and graduate students across seven academic colleges with about 190 undergraduate programs. Ball State offers more than 140 master’s, doctoral, certificate, and specialist degrees, many of them ranking among the best in the nation. Originally founded to meet the need for more and better teachers, Ball State earned the Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation and serves as one of Indiana’s public research institutions while remaining committed to empowering its graduates to have fulfilling careers and meaningful lives.

At Ball State University, diversity is an integral part of its identity. Success depends on the University’s efforts to cultivate inclusivity within its pedagogical, scholarly, external relations, and creative pursuits. Community is an inherent and crucial aspect of such efforts at local, national, and international levels. As the University recruits and trains a diverse administration, faculty, staff, and study body, it strives to ensure its students   are prepared to engage and succeed in increasingly diverse environments.

Reporting directly to the President and serving as a member of the President’s Cabinet, the Vice President is responsible for leading and managing a centralized Marketing and Communications team of 31 FTE. The Division of Marketing and Communications is a full-service, in-house partner to the colleges and units of the University. The team develops strategic messaging and plans focused on relevant solutions across paid, owned, and earned platforms that deliver results for each client’s unique objectives while also remaining consistent with Ball State’s mission, enduring values, strategic priorities, institutional identity/brand, and positioning. As consultants, Marketing and Communications works alongside campus clients to understand their specific University target audiences, key differentiators, and enrollment/retention goals— becoming trusted extensions of the client’s team.

The division’s work is best in class and backed by a passionate group of professionals who love the University. The Division of Marketing and Communications are believers in Ball State’s Beneficence Pledge that honor the principles of excellence, respect, and responsibility.

The incoming Vice President will advance critical priorities important to the brand position of the University and guide the development and execution of a University-wide marketing plan that celebrates and differentiates the Ball State experience. The Vice President will work with key partners across the institution to strengthen core messaging, increase market competitiveness, and educate prospective students, alumni, and donors about Ball State’s history, impact, and mission.

The incoming Vice President will be a highly motivated self- starter with a record of success in a complex organization of similar size and scope. The Vice President will be a strong communicator, lead effectively in ambiguous environments, possess a high degree of integrity, and inspire confidence in crisis. The ideal candidate will have managed a marketing and communications department engaged in providing comprehensive in-house service to its clients and bring extensive knowledge of and experience in the higher education sector. A bachelor’s degree is required. 

All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited. Applications should include, as separate documentation, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in the leadership profile (available at www.wittkieffer.com). WittKieffer is assisting the Ball State University in this search. For fullest consideration, candidate materials should be received by Tuesday, December7. Application materials should be submitted through WittKieffer’s candidate portal.

Nominations and inquiries can be directed to WittKieffer consultants:

Zachary A. Smith, Ph.D, Melissa Fincher and Ashlee Winters Musser

BallStateVPMarCom@wittkieffer.com

For more information about Ball State University, visit bsu.edu.

Ball State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer that is strongly and actively committed to diversity within its community. Women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and protected veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other legally protected status.