Work Experience

Director of M arketing Communications, Gatton College of Business & Economics, University of Kentucky, December 2005— Present.

Creation and Leadership of Communications Department• Provide leadership for the College’s Communications Department.• Create strategic initiatives to determine branding strategy for the College.• Lead a creative team comprised of graphic designers, social media personnel,

technical and web support, production manager, events coordinator, outsidevendors and freelancers.

• Develop all recruitment materials, including brochures, viewbooks, advertisements and electronic brochures and web materials.

• Write ad and brochure copy, along with press releases and various mediamaterials.

• Create new publications for donors, alumni and friends of the College, including a biannual magazine, newsletters and direct mail campaigns.

• Help steer fund-raising and recruitment efforts through direct mailcampaigns, advertising and strategy development.

• Develop all internal communications to help bring a unified front forbranding effort.

• Spearhead major events and visits by prominent leaders, including thepresident of India, CEOs of major corporations and prominent businessleaders from across the state.

• Collaborate with faculty and administration on various special events, lectures and visits to ensure maximum public and media exposure.

• Serve on the College’s Leadership Team as a member of senior administration.• Serve on the University’s Communications Council with senior university

administration officials.

B rand Identification• Create all brand materials, including all print and web-based

marketing materials. • Create branding goals for both internal and external communication

strategies. • Create branding initiatives in social media and interactive media outlets to

increase school rankings and positioning. • Create and implement the Gatton United brand for the Gatton College’s $65

million building capital campaign, which includes Gatton United marketing andfundraising materials, website/social media development, public fund-raising launch event, and ground-breaking ceremony.

michelegaither sparks

m a r k e t i n g

br a n d d e ve l o pm e n t & m a n a ge m e n t

c o m m u n i ca t i o n s

pu bl i c r e l a t i o n s

Education• M.A. instructional media,

candidate, Asbury University• B.A. journalism

Asbury University

Skills• Two decades of public relations,

marketing, communications andbrand development and management experience

• Detailed and analytical• High-level communicator

Advertising and M arketing• Create and implement a strategic marketing plan for the College, which includes all

advertising, both traditional and non-traditional.• Decide and manage advertising schedule and budget, including where and

when ads will appear both locally and nationally.• Create and analyze all marketing techniques and plans to creatively promote the

College’s image and name.

M edia Relations• Proactively and consistently work with local media outlets in providing expert sources for

news stories. • Continually cultivating relationships with local and national television and newspaper media

outlets for utilizing institutional resources in news stories.• Promoting the educational image of the institution through the development of professors as

expert resources. • Preparing faculty and administration for media interviews.

Publications• Responsible for website. Work closely with information technology to design and implement

all aspects of the website.• Develop all recruitment materials, including brochures, viewbooks, advertisements and

electronic and web-based materials. • Develop biannual magazine for alumni of the College. • Develop direct mail fundraising campaign for the College, including follow ups and thank yous. • Develop quarterly newsletter for top donors of the institution.

Director of Communications, Asbury Theological Seminary, December 2002— December 2005.

Leadership of Department• Managed eight budgets totalling more than $800,000.• Oversaw creative team which included designers, production managers, photographers,

student workers, outside vendors, freelancers and staff assistants.• Worked with departments across campus to promote their programs and events. • Built communications team at institution and rebuilt relations that were severed across the

campuses to bring about a more cohesive marketing plan.• Developed all recruitment materials, including brochures, viewbooks, advertisements and

electronic brochures and web materials.• Consistently wrote ad and brochure copy, along with press releases and various media materials. • Directed production of publications and multi-media materials which won CASE and Press awards.• Served as a senior advisor to the president, senior vice president and vice president for

advancement regarding strategic initiatives and branding issues.

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B rand Identification• Implemented brand identification for the institution, which included three campuses

and three schools. • Created new brand identification, including all print materials and web-based marketing. • Committee chairperson on brand identification for the institution which worked to

bring all departments in line with the then-current branding and integrated marketing approach.

M edia Relations• Proactively and consistently worked with local and national media outlets in providing expert

sources for news stories. • Continually cultivated relationships with local and national television and newspaper

media outlets for utilizing institutional resources in news stories.• Promoted the educational image of the institution through the development of professors

as expert resources. • Prepared faculty and administration for media interviews.• Under my leadership, faculty appeared in numerous media outlets, including the New York Times,

Washington Post, Dateline NBC, A&E programming, NBC Nightly News and numerous local media outlets.

• Served as top media spokesperson for the institution. • Led institution through its largest media crisis in its 80-year history. Dealt with media

outlets across the country and worked proactively to rebuild public image of institution.

Strategic Initiatives• Developed yearly strategic initiatives for the institution, including all external and internal

initiatives in regards to public relations, media relations and marketing. • Media initiatives included such items as development of faculty media guide, pitching of

current event stories and how faculty bring expertise to the subject, and development of newsletter for reporters highlighting faculty and current events.

• Worked closely with admissions team to develop strategic initiatives for recruitment and retention.

Publications• Responsible for website. Worked closely with information technology to design and implement

all aspects of the website.• Developed all recruitment materials, including brochures, viewbooks, advertisements and

electronic and web-based materials. • Editorship of The Asbury Herald, The Alumni Link and The Asbury Theological Journal.

Responsibilities included:• Deciding themes for upcoming and current issues• Selecting content of issues • Writing articles for issues • Making all editorial decisions • Proof-reading issues • Overseeing the entire production of the magazine• Managing budget• Working with outside printers and mail services

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Advertising and M arketing• Created and implemented all advertising for the institution.• Decided advertising schedule, including where and when ads will appear both locally and nationally.• Created all marketing techniques to creatively promote the institution’s image and name.• Created marketing plan for all three campuses.

Adjunct Faculty M ember , Asbury University, 2001-2005. • Taught various courses within the journalism and public relations department, including courses

dealing with public relations, media relations and marketing.• Provided leadership and consultation to the student newspaper, including offering seminars to

editorial staff and substituting for the faculty advisor to the paper. • Seminars included information on the printing process, use of all hardware and software, and

the management process of running a newspaper.

Associate Director of Communications, Communications Department, Asbury Theological Seminary, August 1994— December 2002. • Cultivated relationships with local and national news outlets for utilizing institutional resources

in news stories.• Prepared faculty and administration for media interviews.• Served as editor for the institution’s major publications.• Produced copy for advertisements, brochures and press releases.• Gained more editorial and supervisory responsibilities. • Worked closely with the director of communications in preparing marketing plans for the institution.• Oversaw running of the department in the director’s absence.

Committee M embership, Nominations and Organizational M embership• Member, Outstanding Young Women of America• Member, University of Kentucky’s Brand Strategy Committee• Member, University of Kentucky’s Communications Council• Member, University of Kentucky’s Strategic Planning Communications Committee• Member, University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business & Economics Strategic Planning

Committee; co-chair of Strategic Planning Committee’s External Relations Task Force• Nominated, University of Kentucky’s Lyman T. Johnson Outstanding African American Staff Member award

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