Roanoke College just got very serious about its marketing.
The Salem-based liberal arts college just named New York City hotshot communications guru Melanie Wine Tolan executive director of marketing and communications, a job it just created.
Tolan, a former executive vice president at global communications firm Edelman of New York and Chicago, will join Roanoke’s senior leadership team July 29. She will report directly to President Michael Maxey.
Tolan is a 20-year veteran of account leadership in brand strategy development at Edelman in New York. She served most recently as executive vice president, director of operations for global clients, working with Edelman’s most significant accounts.
“Part of the appeal of bringing Melanie to Roanoke is her core belief in liberal arts and her knowledge of the competitive landscape for all higher education,” says Maxey.
Her department will set vision, direction and coordination of marketing and communications resources across the college.
“On my first visit to campus, I immediately felt something special at Roanoke College,” Tolan says. “I was … impressed … by the goal of faculty and staff to ensure personal fulfillment for every one of its students.”
About the Writer:
Dan Smith is an award-winning Roanoke-based writer/author/photographer and a member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame (Class of 2010). His blog, fromtheeditr.com, is widely read and he has authored seven books, including the novel CLOG! He is founding editor of a Roanoke-based business magazine and a former Virginia Small Business Journalist of the Year (2005).
