University Marking and Communications has become a stand-alone division as of Feb. 17, reporting directly to President Tania Tetlow with Donna Lehmann serving as its interim vice president.
“This shift represents an investment in our marketing and communication efforts,” Tetlow said. “That work raises Fordham’s profile, connects with our alumni and donors, and most of all, increases our enrollment. Investment in this area will pay dividends across the University.”
For decades, the University’s marketing and communications team has been a department within Development and University Relations, a division that encompasses about 120 professionals who work in fundraising, event planning, and alumni engagement, in addition to marketing and communications. The latter represents nearly a quarter of the division, but it is responsible for a wide range of enterprises, including advertising and marketing, communications and media relations, photography and video, social media, and website management.
Donna Lehmann
With the creation of a new vice president role, Tetlow has now placed University Marketing and Communications directly in her cabinet, where she can address the team’s needs. The division will be led by Lehmann, formerly the associate vice president for marketing, who has led the University’s marketing operations since 2017. She will serve as the interim vice president while the University conducts a national search led by Lerzan Aksoy, Ph.D., dean of the Gabelli School of Business and a professor of marketing. In the coming months, the search committee will ask for input from the University community.
“I am excited to assume this role and thankful to the president for her confidence in our team,” Lehmann said. “We’ve very eager to tell Fordham’s story on a national and international stage.”
Though the marketing and communications functions are equally crucial, said Tetlow, the search for a permanent vice president will focus on someone with more experience in marketing, since this position will have a more direct impact on Fordham’s finances. Lehmann’s counterpart in University Marketing and Communications, Bob Howe, will remain in his current position as associate vice president for communications and special advisor to the president.
Budget-wise, this position will replace the vice presidency for Lincoln Center. (Frank Simio, the previous vice president for Lincoln Center, plans on retiring on June 30.)
Tetlow said the new shift will help to enhance Fordham’s reputation, both locally and around the world.
“The remarkable team in Marketing and Communications will continue to grow Fordham’s profile, engage our alumni, and most of all, help us to recruit our best and brightest students,” Tetlow wrote in a Feb. 17 email to the University community. “My hope is this new focus will lift and support their work.”
