To adopt best practices, streamline and integrate operations, and better tell our extraordinary story, the Wayne State University communications and marketing team has reorganized. The move – aimed at aligning the university’s storytelling with its strategic goals – also comes with a new name.
The former Office of Marketing and Communications is now named University Communications and Marketing (UCAM), a unit in the Division of University Relations. Led by Melissa Smiley, chief of staff and chief university relations officer, University Relations unites the efforts of the former Office of Marketing and Communications, state government, regional and community affairs functions, and the Board of Governors Office to bring a cohesive approach to advocacy, communication and collaboration.
The UCAM team is now better positioned to advance Wayne State’s reputation through integrated strategies for social and other digital media, advertising, traditional media, and more. This approach will increase understanding of the university’s unique strengths and impact among potential and current students, faculty and staff; government officials; alumni; corporate and other partners; and national funders like the National Institutes of Health.
“This reorganization will allow us to more effectively showcase the role that Michigan’s premier urban, public top-tier research university plays in driving progress and prosperity across our city, region, state and beyond,” said Dr. Kimberly Andrews Espy, WSU’s president. “Wayne State has a rich, vibrant story to tell, and these changes will ensure that we’re sharing that story as broadly and dynamically as possible.”
The UCAM unit is led by WSU alum Doug Kuiper, senior associate vice president of communications and marketing. Kuiper echoed Espy’s sentiments, explaining that the changes will foster greater integration, expertise and accountability within the unit, while forging stronger and more proactive partnerships across the schools, colleges and divisions that compose the larger WSU landscape.
The reorganization empowers the talent and skill already present in the unit by consolidating leadership structure, reducing reporting lines and streamlining the chargeback model. Kuiper, who joined the university in 2024, added that the new structure will also “unify our creative resources to spark innovation and deliver world-class work.”
The reorganization follows a 2024 external review that identified key areas where WSU could upgrade its overall approach to communications and marketing. Community feedback from the report addressed by the reorganization include implementing dedicated roles for social media, content strategy, internal communications and more. Additionally, when fully operational, the structure will provide single points of contact for schools, colleges and divisions – and their communicators – to access the planning capabilities and specialized resources of UCAM.
“There’s never been a more important and exciting time to tell the Wayne State story,” Kuiper said. “Our university improves lives every day through education, research, health care and so much more. These changes will enable us to implement modern approaches to sharing those stories of impact to attract and retain Wayne State students, faculty and supporters.”