COLUMBIA - UM System President Gary Forsee announced Wednesday that Cindy Pollard will be the associate vice president of the UM System's Office of Strategic Communications. She will begin her duties Sept. 22.
"Cindy's breadth and depth of communications experience, particularly in the field of higher education, makes her an outstanding choice for this position," Forsee said in a press release issued Wednesday. "She has a wonderful reputation for implementing strategic communication initiatives in complex organizations and engaging various audiences. I am pleased to welcome her to the university leadership team."
As associate vice president, Pollard will provide leadership and direction to the UM System's professional and support staff in the areas of strategic planning, news media relations, marketing, Web-based communications, special projects and cooperative media, according to the job description posted on MU's Web site.
"I am honored to accept this leadership position at the University of Missouri," Pollard said in a release. "As a graduate of MU and a member of its Communications Council for the past five years, I am familiar with many of the challenges facing public higher education in Missouri. I look forward to working with the staff to ensure the university's great messages are heard and understood throughout the state and beyond."
Pollard has more than 30 years of experience in the communications field, 10 of which were specifically in higher education, according to the release. Before coming to the UM System, she led the marketing and communications department at the University of Nevada-Reno, focusing on the university's marketing programs and providing strategic communication assistance to top administration.
Before working there, Pollard worked at Tufts University in Massachusetts. She has also worked as director of public relations for Sony Electronics in New York City and as director of corporate affairs and marketing services for Mercury Communications LTD in London.
Pollard is a graduate of the MU School of Journalism, and she received a master's degree in international communication from American University in Washington, D.C.
She is the national chair of the Counselors to Higher Education of the Public Relations Society of America and an executive committee member of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges Council on Strategic Communications and Advancement.