As Stanford’s senior communications official, Lisa Lapin oversees University Communications and serves as chief media spokesperson for the university. The University Communications team has responsibility for Stanford web content, the university home page and top-level websites; media relations and the Stanford News Service; presidential and provost communications; internal and parent communications, crisis communications, coordination of new media including social media and mobile media. University Communications also houses major publications and communications programs including Stanford Report, iTunesU, YouTube, Stanford Facts; and campus video production. Lapin provides leadership to the university-wide Communications Working Group of more than 85 campus professionals.
Lapin is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, where she also chairs the CASE Commission on Communications and Marketing. She is a member of the Association of American Universities Public Affairs Council and is active in numerous communications organizations including the American Marketing Association and the communications advisory board of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
Prior to joining Stanford in 2008, Lapin headed communications at the University of California, Davis for nearly a decade, first as director of its News Service and then as assistant vice chancellor for university communications, where she led external and internal communications at the 30,000-student public research university. Her responsibilities at UC Davis included media relations, crisis and issues management, executive communications, primary campus website and publications, branding and marketing, faculty-staff communications, visual identity and design, and development, alumni and parent communications.
Lapin spent 15 years as an award-winning reporter and editor at major daily newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, San Jose Mercury News and The Sacramento Bee. She covered higher education, state and federal politics and environmental issues, and served as education editor and in newsroom management as city editor. Her work covering the Loma Prieta earthquake was part of a San Jose Mercury News Pulitzer Prize.
Lapin is currently a second-year student in the Master of Liberal Arts program at Stanford, and has a BA in Print Journalism from the University of Southern California.
Speaking On:
How Stanford University utilises social media platforms to engage students
Carl Rallings is currently the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Student Management) at the University of Southern Queensland and has extensive experience in student management in a variety of contexts. In 1990 he began his career at the coalface of student administrative services, has since worked at several metropolitan and regional Australian universities in a variety of roles, and has also spent time working overseas.
In his current role Carl is responsible for the Student Management Division and is chair of USQ’s Student Engagement Advisory Committee. He plays a leading role in developing a University-wide management philosophy, process, function, structure and communication approach that is student objective oriented, and assists in building USQ’s reputation for student relationship management.
Carl has a thorough and in depth knowledge and understanding of the culture of Universities and how to support the student experience using the student learning planning framework balancing the interests of internal and external stakeholders.
Speaking On:
Building strong relationships with individual students on their learning journey
How do students expect to be communicated with? Discussion on prospective & current student communication4
The University of British Columbia
view profile
Richard Fisher has 25 years of advertising, communications and media relations expertise in London, New York and Toronto with agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather and TBWA, with clients as diverse as KFC/Taco Bell, Hasbro, Kodak and Moosehead beer.
He is Chief Communications Officer, Development & Alumni Engagement at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. In September 2011, UBC launched the most ambitious fundraising and alumni engagement campaign in Canadian history – startanevolution.ca
Prior to UBC, Richard spent seven years as Chief Marketing Officer at York University in Toronto. In that time York built a North American CASE National Grand Gold award-winning brand for its work in advertising, media relations, interactive and publications.
Speaking On:
An overview of UBC’s approach to branding & digital media in Canada’s largest alumni engagement & fundraising campaign
Combining strategic thinking with a strong slant towards tactical execution and getting things done, Paul Tagell is the Web Marketing Director for Marketing & Communications at The University of Melbourne. Managing a cross-functional Social Media and Web Design & Development team, Paul is responsible for many of the Universities publicly facing websites, web applications and social media accounts.
Speaking On:
Creating compelling online experiences for prospective students
Stronger strategies for student communications
Given the number of marketing functions across any tertiary institution, and the need to engage students past, present and future, it comes as no surprise that education providers struggle to deliver an aligned message.
Add to this the imperative to;
- meet incoming digital natives on the social platforms where they interact
- deliver integrated online/offline communications
- and keep abreast of constantly evolving technologies and media trends
read more
