3/4/98

Attention editors: Head shots of Burton, Polen and McNulty are available for downloading from the Web at:
http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/~univnews/pix/HUB_BURTON.JPG http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/~univnews/pix/DICK_POLEN.JPG http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/~univnews/pix/BRYAN_MCNULTY.JPG

ATHENS, Ohio -- With new responsibilities, new titles and some new space, the University Relations division is nearing completion of an initiative that refocuses its resources and restructures staffing, saysVice President for University Relations Adrie Nab.

Last summer's long-term planning discussions between President Robert Glidden and Nab concerning communications strategies resulted in the shifting of some major responsibilities of the division to other areas in the university administration while adding some new ones. The intent is to allow Nab and his staff more time and resources to plan and implement new initiatives and strengthen existing ones that produce greater statewide, national and international visibility for Ohio University.

Among the changes: The Office of Alumni Relations and the Kennedy Museum of Art were transferred to Alumni Relations and Development Vice President Leonard Raley and to the Office of the President, respectively. The oversight and responsibility of designing and maintaining the Ohio University World Wide Web site and the coordination of processing incoming surveys used in national magazines for ranking colleges and universities was moved to Nab's division. Over a period of months, the division was restructured to concentrate its resources on crafting and executing new long-term communications strategies.

Nab has formed a three-person executive team with new and more defined responsibilities. It includes Associate Vice President Hub Burton, who has been with the division since early 1993. He is taking on an enhanced responsibility of the Ohio Media Productions video production unit and will oversee Web design and maintenance, in addition to working closely with the Ohio Sports Network. He also will be responsible for regional and statewide visibility programs and enhanced Southeast Ohio Outreach activities, working closely with the regional campuses. Burton has more than 20 years' experience in electronic media programming, marketing and public relations.

Bryan McNulty has been named assistant vice president and executive director of University News Services and Periodicals. McNulty, in UNSP since 1988, will be working with Nab's executive team to manage and coordinate major visibility programs nationally and internationally, including Athenian Dialogues, exhibitions of special collections, and Asian and European university conferences. In addition he will oversee the management of the University Publications Department (formerly Graphic Communications) and its soon to be named new director. McNulty brings 21 years of news reporting, editing and media relations experience to his job.

Richard Polen, who also has been with the University Relations division since 1988, has been named assistant vice president. His new responsibilities include overseeing the director of University Printing Resources. He also manages the Visitors Center, campus United Appeal and other community relations efforts, the Kennedy and Frontiers in Science lecture series, and the division's fiscal and personnel resources. Polen's primary background is nearly 20 years' experience in managing alumni relations programs and activities as well as administrative, budget and human resources responsibilities.

Nab calls the changes a significant improvement over the past dispersed, complex and too multifaceted responsibilities.

"This streamlined and more focused approach to university advancement initiatives in communications and public relations puts our division's tasks and responsibilities much more in line with other major university relations approaches in the country, like Michigan, Chicago, North Carolina and others," Nab says. "This is a much improved use of university financial and personnel resources in my division with a greater, more marketable end result."

Nab, who joined Ohio University in 1992, brings nearly 25 years of higher education, publications, media relations, marketing management and consulting experience to his job from various institutions throughout the country, with an additional 10 years' experience in corporate public relations and media relations at the Mobil Oil Corp. basic research lab in Princeton, N.J.

Glidden, who has worked closely with Nab on developing new international visibility initiatives in Europe and Asia, says he is looking to the University Relations Division to provide the university with more major "hands-on" public relations programs. "This new streamlined structure allows Adrie Nab and his team the time and resources he needs to position Ohio University as a national and international leader in higher education." Glidden says.

New long-range goals and annual objectives have been developed and new space is being renovated in Scott Quad to house parts of the restructured division, including the executive team, allowing for a more productive management approach.