Profile of Ryan Merrill, Director of Strategic Communications & Media Relations in the Chancellor's Office at UMass Dartmouth
Area - Strategic Communication & Media Relations Professional in Higher Education, in a leadership role
Information - Gathered in conversation and consultation with Dir. Merrill
Explicit boundaries include:
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- Keeping a consistent tone that is approved by the Chancellor's Office and leadership team
- Ability to keep up with evolving technologies and social media trends, in order to best reach various audiences
- Utilizing fonts, color schemes and other university branding for all communications to ensure a coherent appearance
- Data integrity (making sure information reaches the correct demographic, lists are current, etc.)
Implicit boundaries include:
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- Designing communications readily understood and appropriate for all audiences, including but not limited to students, faculty, staff, alumni and the general public as appropriate to the situation
- Wide knowledge of university departments and practices
- Keeping up with the unpredictable nature of events that can occur on a college campus and subsequent communications (damage control, etc.)
- Balancing reactive and proactive approaches based on constraints, time management, etc.
The artifacts these professionals reference include email and other written communication (both internal end external), strategic plans, social media campaigns, large scale events, public relations and relevant news coverage.
The identities these professionals assume include assistant vice chancellors, directors, chief of staff, and associate or assistant directors in a University Marketing Department or Chancellor's Office.