{"id":37732,"date":"2015-07-09T13:52:18","date_gmt":"2015-07-09T20:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stage.headlessnauedu-b6hgdzckfdgxgzhe.westus-01.azurewebsites.net\/?p=37732"},"modified":"2015-07-09T16:55:28","modified_gmt":"2015-07-09T23:55:28","slug":"nau-alumna-returns-as-chief-marketing-and-communications-officer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/nau-alumna-returns-as-chief-marketing-and-communications-officer\/","title":{"rendered":"NAU alumna returns as chief marketing and communications officer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"As\u00a0Rita Cheng<\/strong>‘s first\u00a0year as president comes to a close,\u00a0<\/strong>her leadership team continues to take shape with the addition of\u00a0Carla Andrews-O\u2019Hara<\/strong>,\u00a0who will return to\u00a0NAU\u00a0as its\u00a0chief marketing and communications officer. The NAU alumna and former marketing director will begin Aug. 3.<\/p>\n

Cheng announced the selection\u00a0after a competitive national search. As\u00a0chief marketing and communications officer, Andrews-O’Hara will spearhead a project to assess, streamline and unify\u00a0the university’s marketing and communication efforts, an initiative that\u00a0began in the\u00a0spring.<\/p>\n

Cheng said Andrews-O’Hara’s background in higher education marketing, communications and development, and a demonstrated commitment to NAU’s mission, provides her with a strong foundation for the role.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarla offers a breadth of professional experience and\u00a0a\u00a0deep, personal knowledge of NAU,\u201d Cheng said. “Her entrepreneurial spirit, innovative thinking and\u00a0keen understanding of strategic brand messaging will significantly contribute to our\u00a0overall communication and enhance our\u00a0enrollment, research and fundraising efforts.”<\/p>\n

Andrews-O\u2019Hara served as director of NAU\u2019s University Marketing department from 2003 to 2007, where she led an integrated campaign to develop a new\u00a0graphic identity system and implementation of a new website. She also oversaw communications and marketing for Extended Campuses and was part of a coalition that promoted the newly opened High Country Conference Center.\u00a0Following Andrews-O’Hara’s\u00a0time at NAU, she\u00a0launched her own marketing and strategic planning consulting company,\u00a0worked for Johns Hopkins University and served in several fundraising and communication roles at the University of Maryland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spent my career working with a number of universities as a marketing, communications, and development professional and have gained tremendous insights into the rapid changes taking place in higher education on a national level,\u201d Andrews-O\u2019Hara said. \u201cI look forward to returning to my alma mater and sharing that knowledge with the campus community as we build on the university\u2019s rich history while also facing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andrews-O\u2019Hara earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in mass communication, telecommunications and film from the University of Utah and a master\u2019s in English, rhetoric and composition with a graduate certificate in professional writing from Northern Arizona University.<\/p>\n

Andrews-O’Hara is the latest to join the president’s leadership team, which since August has welcomed:<\/p>\n