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Following an extended national search, ¹ÏÉñÍø announces the selection of Jaime L. Hunt as Vice President for University Communications and Chief Marketing Officer. Hunt will join the Monarch Nation with the start of the fall semester. Hunt will lead the newly established University Communications team in providing campus-wide services and support, as well as implementing industry-best practices and broader external engagement.

In announcing Hunt's selection, President Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D, said, "¹ÏÉñÍø is an institution that has a rich history of remarkable accomplishments and innovative efforts. In order to further solidify our reputation and standing in local communities and across the Commonwealth of Virginia, as well as nationally and internationally, we need an energetic and proven leader with Jaime's level of expertise and passion. I am confident that she will deliver an immediate impact to our critical and ongoing work."

Hunt's career in the communications industry includes more than 25 years of experience beginning in print journalism and transitioning to higher education nearly two decades ago. She has direct responsibility and deep experience in the areas of media relations, marketing, creative direction, crisis communications, branding, digital communications, reputation/issues management, multimedia, photography, public radio, enrollment/admissions communications and government relations. For the past two years, she has served as Vice President and Chief Communications and Marketing Officer at Miami University in Ohio, one of the nation's original Public Ivies with approximately 22,000 students receiving an academically rigorous college experience on its five campuses. During Hunt's tenure as a RedHawk, she provided strong leadership in the transition to a centralized communications model; successfully oversaw the development and launch of a new brand platform; and provided sound strategy in the development and implementation of an application generation and yield campaign that attracted the largest first-year class in the institution's history.

Prior to serving in a leadership role at Miami University, Hunt held the roles of Vice Chancellor of Strategic Communications and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Winston-Salem State University for five years. At Winston-Salem State, she provided strategic management of the overall public relations, internal communications, and reputation management activities and elevated the Rams' brand by establishing the vision and leading the execution of a strategic communications plan aligned with the institution's overarching strategic plan. Additionally, she held director, associate director and coordinator level positions at higher education institutions in the specific areas of web strategy and interactive media; integrated marketing communications; and public relations.

In addition to significant impacts at each institution served, Hunt is highly regarded in the higher education marketing community. She is a prolific speaker and writer on the topics of higher education marketing and leadership with columns appearing in VoltEDU, Inside Higher Ed and Forbes, as well as conference engagements across North America. She is regularly interviewed for articles and podcasts and recently launched a podcast, "Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO," on the Enrollify network. Her work has earned more than 35 industry awards.

In being selected for this inaugural role, Hunt shared, "At each university for which I have worked, I have been able to have a transformative impact. During my higher education career, I have been part of four university rebrandings, five website overhauls and three magazine redesigns; rolled out mobile applications, wayfinding kiosks, podcasts and virtual tours; and implemented integrated marketing communications models at three institutions."

In closing, she said, "Building authentic relationships with others has given me a wide and powerful network of colleagues at higher education institutions across the country. I am honored to be selected as ¹ÏÉñÍø's Vice President for University Communications and Chief Marketing Officer. And, I look forward to partnering with President Hemphill, the senior leadership team, and proud Monarchs on campus, in the community and beyond to tell ¹ÏÉñÍø's story of transformative excellence and profound impact at both the individual and collective levels!"