Can You Make It Pretty?

S3, E8: The new president at Langara College in British Columbia, Canada, began on June 6, but the marketing office started prepping for Dr. Paula Burns' arrival back in January. Langara's public affairs manager Mark Dawson shares why preparations kicked off so early, plus the steps they've taken to ensure employees, students, the community and key stakeholders get to know their new leader. He also points out the most vital to-dos, specifically for smaller marketing staffs ...  just in case you don't have the resources to tackle every single one of those steps.

S3, E7: Data Dig 2022 reveals the issues we face in the field, the racial and ethnic makeup of NCMPR membership, and the staffing areas most lacking on our teams. NCMPR worked with Graduate Communications to conduct this first-of-its-kind survey of community college marketers. Cheryl Broom, its CEO, chats about some of the survey's findings and shares ideas about how NCMPR can best help our members moving forward. Plus, in the newly named Chit Chat, Peer and Simple hosts Jeff Julian and Stephanie Reyna share their tips for naming projects – everything from marketing campaigns to bands.

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S3, E6: Oakton Community College in Illinois recently received a $1.5 million grant to help support its Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students, who make up about 23% of Oakton's student population. Dear Aunaetitrakul, the grant's senior program manager, shares how Oakton promotes the grant and supports Oakton's large AAPI population – including some thoughts about why it might be time to start a subject-specific podcast at your own institution.

S3, E5: COVID-19 information fatigue is real, but Northern Essex Community College in Massachusetts was determined to inform their employees and students about the college's coronavirus safety measures. When presented with a budget to make a video, Allison Dolan-Wilson, vice president of institutional advancement, and creative director Trevor Stair knew they had to do something memorable. They share how they crafted the perfect irreverent tone to ensure their audience would listen up. Watch their bronze Paragon Award-winning project, in Promotional Video-Short Form, on YouTube. Plus, hosts Jeff and Stephanie discuss the benefits of a little um'ing. (For all you um-counters out there, get your answers in no later than June 1, 2022!)

S3, E4: NCMPR's new president takes the reins each March at its national conference. Meet the org's new leader, Jeff Ebbing, who chats about visiting THE Joshua tree, mediocre sushi and how he went from NCMPR blogger to 2022-23 president of the board (and how you can do the same). Plus, host Jeff Julian welcomes cohost Stephanie Reyna, a long-time NCMPR member, recent Leadership Institute graduate — and honorary Jeff.

S3, E3: The first cohort of NCMPR's 10-month Leadership Institute graduated in March. Three graduates discuss what they learned, how the Institute is helping them do their jobs better, and why you should be a part of the 2022-23 cohort. This episode's guests are Leslie Ouellette, associate director of integrated marketing and communications at Bunker Hill Community College in Massachusetts; David Barnhardt, director of communications and student recruitment at West Virginia Northern Community College; and Stephanie Reyna, new media and marketing specialist at Saddleback College in California.

S3, E2: At Norwalk Community College in Connecticut, 7% of the student population was born in Ukraine. To craft NCC's response to the conflict in Ukraine, marketing and the diversity and inclusion committee are working together. Committee chair Pracilya Titus and Mario Haimindra, the marketing and PR associate, chat with Peer and Simple about NCC's programming so far, the importance of both active and passive marketing and how to determine which world topics receive this kind of attention. 

S3, E1: Season 3 of NCMPR's Peer and Simple podcast kicks off with Dr. Kevin Christian, the director of diversity, equity and inclusion at the American Association of Community Colleges in Washington, D.C. Community colleges started to contact him about their chief diversity officer positions back in 2017, but the push grew after George Floyd's murder. Christian discusses the importance of a DEI team (in lieu of just one person), good data and a meaningful budget. 

S2, E12: "What happens when you go to Washington is, you get recruited." After serving as a press secretary under President Bill Clinton, Kerri Glover was recruited by a PR firm repping "pretty much every education association you have ever heard of." Then she worked for a tech firm. And Ogilvy. And the Sierra Club. Glover shares how that resume informs her decisions  and work as Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College's community relations and marketing director.

S2, E11: Dr. Joshua Fredenburg – or Dr. J, as he likes to be called – is an internationally acclaimed speaker, author, TEDx speaker and leadership and diversity consultant, as well as the president/founder of the Circle of Change Leadership Experience for students. A keynote at NCMPR's District 1 conference in October, Dr. J shares some leadership tips, how he gets motivated when he's just not feeling it ... and why his youthful dream job included "FBI agent." This episode was taped live at District 1's conference on Oct. 26, 2021, in Long Branch, New Jersey.