Marylou Ferry, previously Vice President of Communications and Marketing at Scripps College, has been selected to be Pomona College’s first Vice President and Chief Communications
Officer. She will take on the role beginning Jan. 1.
Joining Pomona President David Oxtoby’s executive staff, Ferry will lead Pomona’s 10-member communications team and direct “communications, public relations, community relations, the College web site and social media, and strategic exploration of positioning for the College,” Oxtoby wrote in an e-mail to TSL.
“Communications has emerged as a central issue for institutions
like us, as we get the word out about the value of a liberal arts education
and the place of Pomona College specifically,” Oxtoby wrote.
“It is important to have someone on my senior staff … since that will help
us to communicate even better in the future.”
Many top universities have been hiring a similar
position in their communications departments, Ferry said.
“They are having to communicate with audiences they
didn’t have to communicate with before,” she said. “They need to understand
what you do and why it is important.”
“We live in a very communication-intensive
time,” she added. “Higher education is a ripe topic, and Pomona is in a
great position to be an architect of their future.”
Oxtoby said that Pomona was
“looking for a creative individual with experience in higher education and in
other areas as well” to fill the new position.
Before
coming to Scripps in 2011, Ferry managed her own public relations firm
whose clients included the University of Redlands and Claremont McKenna
College, according to a press release published by Pomona. She contributed to the
communications strategy and materials for the Campaign for Claremont McKenna,
which raised $635 million and was one of the largest fundraising
campaigns among U.S. liberal arts colleges.
Ferry
has also worked in corporate, political, and government communications.
Associated Students of Pomona College President Darrell Jones III PO ’14, who met with
the three finalists for the position during the interview process, said that he was
happy about Ferry’s selection.
“Marylou Ferry’s a very nice lady,” Jones
said.
Oxtoby said that Pomona has been working on plans to add Ferry’s position for approximately two years. In expanding its communications office, the college has also focused on increasing its social media presence, and recently created a Sports Information position filled by Jeremy Kniffin, Oxtoby added, who takes photographs and maintains a strong social media presence for Pomona-Pitzer sports teams.