UI President Sally Mason named Tysen Kendig as the university’s vice president for Strategic Communication on Monday.
Kendig, currently the associate vice chancellor for university relations at the University of Arkansas, will assume the position on Feb. 15, according to a university news release. He will receive a salary of $200,000. Kendig has also worked in public relations at Penn State University and Rider University in New Jersey.
At a public forum during the vice-president search, Kendig told a crowd that engaging students is critical in his position.
“If you increase the communications about the university, and subsequently enhance the content of the university … the degrees of the students are going to become more valuable,” Kendig said at the November forum. “A rise in tide raises all ships and students are probably the battleship among all the ships that are being raised.”
The UI received around 250 applicants for the position and invited four finalists to campus in November to interview.
Kendig succeeds Jude West, professor emeritus of management and organizations, who has served as interim in the position since 2008.
Prior to West, the vice president for strategic communication position had been left vacant for several years. It existed under former President Mary Sue Coleman, but budget cuts forced officials to eliminate it. Though some have questioned the need to hire someone for the job as the UI faces another round of harsh cuts, officials maintain they need the position to help the university with its strategic goals and external communication.
Many other Big Ten institutions have similar positions, officials said.
Under his job description, Kendig will serve as the UI’s “chief communication officer,” and report directly to Mason. He will be responsible for establishing communication plans and policies and overseeing marketing, crisis management and outreach initiatives. Kendig will oversee the Office of University Relations, the Center for Media Production, University of Iowa Television, the UI Alumni Association and Hancher Auditorium.
