Alecia Sudmeyer has been named director of marketing and communications for Unity College, effective July 1.

Sudmeyer had been serving as webmaster and marketing liaison for the school since October 2013, and has extensive prior experience in digital marketing, with 15 years owning and managing an online marketing business in Portugal.

“Alecia was chosen because of her digital experience, to increase Unity’s online presence in today’s competitive and volatile higher education market,” said Dr. Melik Peter Khoury, executive vice president and chief academic officer.

“A prime focus for her efforts will be supporting the further enhancement of the college’s developing national visibility and brand awareness as a leader in sustainability science, which is the leading-edge of 21st century transdisciplinary environmental problem solving,” Khoury said. “Our success in these efforts thus far led us to have confidence in her abilities going forward.”

In June, judges from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education gave Unity College’s “striking” website a Silver Award in a national competition – the college’s third major award for branding and outreach in a variety of media this year.

Judges said “several innovative features” of unity.edu stood out among 88 entries in the Institutional Websites category of the 2015 Circle of Excellence Awards.

In April, Unity recruitment publications were recognized with a Gold Award in the 30th Annual Educational Advertising Awards, sponsored by Higher Education Marketing Report, the largest educational advertising awards competition in the country.

And in January, “Unity is Different,” a series of five videos — “Create,” “Discover,” “Educate,” “Experience,” and “Unity is Different” — received a Gold Award from CASE District 1.
Prior to coming to Unity, Sudmeyer compiled more than 15 years of web managerial experience as owner and general manager of her own digital agency.

“Alecia brings an international skill set, a private sector perspective, a lot of energy and great ideas to the position,” Khoury said. “She is someone who has already hit the ground running as we hope to revolutionize the idea of marketing on college campuses.”

“It is an exciting time to be at Unity as the head of the marketing department,” said Sudmeyer, “Small, liberal arts colleges face unique challenges, including budgetary constraints and preconceived ideas about what marketing’s role should be. In this Unity is no different. What makes working here exciting and unique is Unity’s mission: It is not hard to get behind the urgency of our mission to educate the next generation of environmental professionals, at a time when our climate is at a crucial turning point. The challenge is in bringing this message to a larger audience.”

Khoury said creation of a unified marketing department three years ago has helped lead the college to three straight years of record entry-class enrollment, financial stability and fundraising successes.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015