Purdue merges marketing office into public affairs, eliminates vice president position

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University will consolidate the Office of Marketing and Media with the Office of Public Affairs under the direction of Julie Griffith, vice president for public affairs, President Mitch Daniels announced Monday (April 22).

Teri Lucie Thompson, vice president and chief marketing officer, announced in February her plans to leave the university on April 19. Daniels said the past two months have afforded him the opportunity to reflect on how the university can best serve its external audiences.

"This consolidation joins two groups with similar goals and functions and at the same time reduces administrative overhead," Daniels said. "We're very grateful to Teri for the work she did to move Purdue forward in adopting modern marketing methodologies, and this merger will sustain that momentum."

The move is effective Monday (April 22). Marketing and media staff work with central administration and the academic colleges to enhance the university's reputation and engage with university stakeholders including prospective students, donors and businesses. The unit has won several national awards for marketing campaigns, branding initiatives and multimedia productions.

Griffith said, "I look forward to working with the talented Marketing and Media staff and learning from them. The group is a good fit with public affairs as we engage with critical stakeholders and show what Purdue does for our students and for the state."

Griffith joined Purdue in May 2011 to oversee government and community relations and economic development efforts for Purdue.

Thompson will become senior vice president for university relations at University of Arizona effective May 20. Her last day at Purdue was Friday (April 19). 

Writer: Chris Sigurdson, 765-496-2644, sig@purdue.edu 

Sources: Mitch Daniels, president@purdue.edu