Vice President for Communications and Marketing

Dear Members of the Skidmore Community,

I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Martin A. Mbugua as Skidmore's new vice president for communications and marketing, effective November 1, 2017, following a national search to fill this important role. Martin is uniquely qualified to align the direction of Skidmore's communications and marketing efforts with the College's strategic goals and to effectively lead our dynamic team in the Office of Communications and Marketing.

Martin brings more than 20 years of experience in journalism and higher education communications to Skidmore, most recently as assistant vice president for content and communications at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he has led the university's online news content, media relations, social media, and internal communications teams. Before joining Carnegie Mellon, Martin was director of media relations and university spokesperson at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey.

Martin's experience extends to prior work as a journalist, editor, and writer, including as a reporter with the New York Daily News; U.S. correspondent for the Daily Nation and Standard newspapers in Nairobi, Kenya; and assistant editor at the Queens Chronicle in New York City. He also served as communications and marketing manager at the City University of New York's Murphy Institute and senior news editor at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware.

Martin holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Delaware and a master's degree in government, politics, and international relations from St. John's University in New York City, where he also earned a bachelor's degree in journalism.

In this newly established role at Skidmore, Martin will provide strategic leadership and direction for all aspects of the College's communications and marketing efforts and serve as a key member of Cabinet. He will lead a team of 20 in the Office of Communications and Marketing to raise the awareness and reputation of Skidmore as a top undergraduate liberal arts institution.

Martin is eager to join our community to "enhance the sterling reputation and visibility of one of the finest liberal arts colleges in the nation."

Martin succeeds Debra K. Townsend, who served as interim vice president from June 2015 through July 1, 2017, and as a strategic communications consultant for the College dating back to 2001. Debra managed the "Creative Thought Matters" branding initiative and served three interim terms as head of communications at Skidmore. I thank Debra for her work and leadership with the Office of Communications and Marketing and for her tireless dedication and many years of communications consulting work with the College.

I would also like to commend the work of Andy Camp, Luke Meyers, and Diane O'Connor, who have provided interim leadership since July 1, while maintaining their myriad responsibilities as directors in the Office of Communications and Marketing.

Additionally, I'd like to acknowledge our national search firm, Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, for identifying and presenting numerous well-qualified candidates, and I would like to express my gratitude to our dedicated search committee, which included Mary Lou Bates, Ian Berry, August Bomer-Lawson '17, Lori Eastman, Wilson Espinal '17, Linda Hall (resigned), Eliza Kent, Diane O'Connor, and Idalia Sepulveda.

Please join me in welcoming our new colleague Martin to the Skidmore community.