Below is a message from Drexel President John Fry:
Dear Colleagues,
After successfully leading university-wide communication efforts that markedly strengthened Drexel’s reputation and reach over the last decade, Senior Vice President for University Communications Lori Doyle has decided to retire, effective December 31.
Lori came to Drexel in 2011 with 25 years’ experience spanning public relations agencies, academic medicine, corporate communications, and higher education. She served in similar communications positions at Penn Medicine and also at the University of Pennsylvania, where both she and I met while on the senior leadership team reporting to Penn’s then-president, Judith Rodin. At Drexel, Lori assembled a team of talented professionals charged with improving Drexel’s reputation and strengthening and protecting Drexel’s brand.
Under her leadership, the University Communications team boosted Drexel’s profile in the region, and nationally and internationally through media coverage, publications, executive communications, marketing and advertising, web services and social media clearly distinguishing Drexel. She directed efforts to build the prominence of Drexel’s research enterprise via university publications, including the EXEL research magazine, Drexel Magazine; e-newsletters, including DrexelNow and Drexel Innovates; and the University’s social media channels. Through media relations efforts, Drexel’s faculty experts are routinely quoted in national and local stories in outlets ranging from The New York Times and The Washington Post to The Atlantic and the Economist.
Last year, due to the proactive efforts of the media relations team, there were more than 30,000 mentions of Drexel in print and online news sites and more than 2,700 broadcast segments about Drexel or including expert commentary from Drexel faculty. Combined, these initiatives resulted in an estimated publicity value of more than $85 million. In addition, Lori and her team, in collaboration with the marketing team in EMSS, launched the Ambition Can’t Wait advertising campaign, resulting in a significant increase in awareness of Drexel University and its unique co-op program among key target audiences.
As the former chair and longtime executive committee member of the Public Relations Society of America’s Counselor’s to Higher Education section, Lori is a national leader among college and university communications peers, who regularly seek her guidance.
A national search will be launched for Lori’s successor with details to follow shortly. With the increase over the last five years in paid media strategies, such as the Ambition Can’t Wait campaign, and the important role University Communications plays as Drexel’s brand manager, the position will be expanded to include marketing and the title changed to senior vice president for Marketing and Communications. To ensure a smooth transition, Lori will stay on as an advisor to me through the end of the academic year.
Throughout her distinguished career, Lori’s great strength — from which she derived deep personal satisfaction as a manager— has been her ability to attract and retain the most talented strategic communications professionals and bring out the best in the people who work for her.
Drexel has been extremely fortunate to have Lori guide its communications efforts. Please join me in congratulating Lori as she retires after a long and successful career and wishing her well in the next chapter of her life.
Sincerely,
John Fry
President