Katie Storms shares how she creates compelling content when budgets and time are stretched thin

Storytelling has been key for the more than 1,500 startups developed at The Garage at Northwestern University

Megan Silvey explains how giving programs room to tell their own specific stories can help support a bigger institutional message.

Higher Ed Story Talk Where each week, one marketer answers one question about storytelling on campus. Happy Monday Reader, it's been a few weeks since the last issue came out, but after a phenomenal family vacation in California, I'm back and ready to roll. I'm super excited to share this week's issue because it features someone I've looked up to from a far for several years now. Nathan Jorgensen is the chief of strategic marketing and enrollment communications manager at The Ohio State...

Higher Ed Story Talk Where each week, one marketer answers one question about storytelling on campus. Happy Monday Reader, get ready to hear from Devin Purgason, associate vice president for student experience, marketing and outreach at Forsyth Technical Community College. The American Marketing Association named Devin the Emerging Marketer of the Year in Higher Education in 2024. Q: How are you measuring the impact of your storytelling efforts, even if it’s not perfect? Imperfectly, and I...

Higher Ed Story Talk Where each week, one marketer answers one question about storytelling on campus. This week, meet Adam Stoltz, director of enrollment marketing at the University of Idaho, where he's worked since 2019. Q: What’s one story you wish your institution would tell more often? I wish we highlighted more stories about the full student journey, especially first-generation and underrepresented students who overcome challenges to thrive. Their experiences reflect the heart of our...

Higher Ed Story Talk Where each week, one marketer answers one question about storytelling on campus. Hey, I hope you're enjoying your Monday! This week, let's check in with Kaia Swift, who is the associate director of marketing at Harvard Extension School — where continuing education from Harvard has been offered for more than 100 years. Q: How does your approach to storytelling change, if at all, when you're targeting different audiences? It's not necessarily a different audience, but we...

Higher Ed Story Talk Where each week, one marketer answers one question about storytelling on campus. Happy June! This week, we're talking with Jeff Holeman, director of marketing at the University of Florida's Warrington College of Business. He's worked at UF since 2023. Prior to that, he was director of marketing and communications at the University of Rochester. Q: Where do you like to turn for storytelling inspiration, either in higher ed or outside of it? One of the biggest storytelling...

Higher Ed Story Talk Where each week, one marketer answers one question about storytelling on campus. Happy Monday! This week, I'm excited to introduce you to Cristina Lopez Yakimenko, director of marketing and analytics at Florida International University (FIU). Prior to her current role, she spent nearly five years as the associate director of marketing and analytics at the FIU Chapman Graduate School of Business. Q: What’s the most unexpected place you’ve found a great story on campus?...

Higher Ed Story Talk Where each week, one marketer answers one question about storytelling on campus. It's Monday, and that means it's time for another edition of Higher Ed Story Talk. Today let's hear from Jenny Petty, who became vice president of industry relations and advisory services at higher ed marketing agency SimpsonScarborough in January. She also is co-chair of the 2026 AMA Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education. Prior to SimpsonScarborough, Jenny was vice president for...

Higher Ed Story Talk Where each week, one marketer answers one question about storytelling on campus. Happy Monday! Today we're getting honest with Martin Beck, executive director of strategic marketing and communications at Soka University of America, located in Southern California. Q: What’s one story you wish your institution would tell more often? The story of what students are actually thinking about. Soka University of America attracts students who chose a small, values-driven liberal...

To Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jonathan Eig, everyone’s a storyteller. Some just have more of a knack for it. Jonathan is one of those people.

Higher Ed Story Talk Where each week, one marketer answers one question about storytelling on campus. This week we're talking with Christian Ponce, executive director of university marketing at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. Q: What’s a common storytelling mistake you see in higher ed, and how would you fix it? Ensuring the character in the story is the right one. Universities should never put themselves as the hero. That’s a misstep. I saw a school that regretfully...

Bradley Akubuiro discusses his new book, "Faster. Messier. Tougher.," and the value of storytelling in crisis communications.

Higher Ed Story Talk Where each week, one marketer answers one question about storytelling on campus. This week, let's hear from Bryce Hoffman, who is the vice president, chief marketing and communications officer at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. Q: What did you learn from a storytelling experiment your team tried that didn’t go as planned? At one of my previous institutions, we decided to collaborate with student creators who were active on TikTok for a brand...

Stephen Krupin reflects on his time as a speechwriter for President Obama and shares why storytelling remains critical to his work.

Higher Ed Story Talk Where each week, one marketer answers one question about storytelling on campus. We're traveling to Valparaiso, Indiana, this week to hear from Cortney McDonald, director of academic and admission marketing at Valparaiso University. Q: What’s one internal process that helps your team uncover strong stories consistently? One of the most reliable ways our marketing and communications team uncovers strong stories is through the relationships we have built with faculty and...

NBA agent Austin Brown shares why storytelling is 'the most important tool I have in my toolkit'

Higher Ed Story Talk Where each week, one marketer answers one question about storytelling on campus. This week, let's hear from Heidi Pitts, assistant director of digital marketing and media at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Q: What’s the most unexpected place you’ve found a great story on campus? Technically, the story wasn’t on campus at all — it was on the way to campus. A flight cancellation in Seattle stranded 15 new international students who were traveling to Whitman for...

Franky Otero talks about 'the grandeur of nature' and how storytelling is critical to his work as a Park Ranger.

Discover a new newsletter devoted to a school's most important asset

Co-founder Tiffany Walden explains why her approach to storytelling influenced the success of a budding digital media platform.

Business coach Ed Gandia explains why internal narratives are often the most impactful form of storytelling — for better and for worse.

An unexpected brush with death taught Dr. Alin Gragossian how impactful storytelling can be.

3D chalk artist Nate Baranowski explains how his perspective on storytelling helps guests immerse themselves in his work.