UT System announces new Chief Marketing Officer

AUSTIN—Teri Lucie Thompson will join The University of Texas System in the newly-created position of associate vice chancellor for marketing and communications and chief marketing officer next month.

Thompson is currently senior vice president of university relations and chief marketing officer for the University of Arizona.

“Teri has built an impressive reputation in strategic marketing, brand strategy and communications and has led transformational change in key positions of leadership throughout her career,” Randa Safady, UT System’s vice chancellor for external relations, said. “We are excited about the expertise she’ll bring to the System and the opportunity now before us to enhance our bandwidth to tell the story of the UT System and the impact its 14 institutions have on our state, the nation and the world.”

Under the direction of Chancellor William H. McRaven, the UT System recently underwent a system-wide organizational review process, and surveys and focus groups from UT institutions supported the concept of augmenting their own institution brands through a UT System brand. The approach also helps fulfill UT System’s statutory requirement to “enhance the public image” of its institutions.

During her time at Arizona, Thompson built an exceptional leadership team, refreshed Arizona’s brand platform, established a Washington D.C.-based federal relations office and enhanced the university’s storytelling. Prior to her time at Arizona, she served as vice president for marketing and media and chief marketing officer at Purdue University from 2008 to 2013. At Purdue, Thompson led transformational change, both in restructuring the marketing department and in positioning the university. She brought rigor to Purdue’s higher education marketing, built a dashboard, created a market research function and commissioned brand differentiation research. Her work at Purdue garnered a number of distinctions, including the American Marketing Association’s Higher Education Marketer of the Year recognition in 2012 and the American Business Award as “Marketing Executive of the Year” in 2010.

Thompson also has rich experience in the corporate world. Before her arrival at Purdue, she served as vice president of marketing for Safeco Insurance. She also served in a variety of marketing and public relations positions at State Farm Insurance, the last of which was directing the company's customer segment marketing division, where she spearheaded the company's efforts in marketing to women, young adults and multicultural markets.

“I was once given a coffee mug that bears the quote: ‘Life’s too short not to live it as a Texan,’ so my husband and I finally look forward to becoming Texans,” Thompson said. “And more importantly, I look forward to contributing to the legacy of UT as an extraordinary education and health system.”

Thompson earned a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in education, both from Illinois State University. She also earned her certification in new product development from the University of Michigan's executive education program.  Just last month, she was the recipient of Illinois State’s distinguished alumna award. 

Thompson’s first day with UT System will be April 18.

About The University of Texas System

Educating students, providing care for patients, conducting groundbreaking basic, applied and clinical research, and serving the needs of Texans and the nation for more than 130 years, The University of Texas System is one of the largest public university systems in the United States. With 14 institutions and an enrollment of more than 217,000, the UT System confers more than one-third of the state’s undergraduate degrees, educates almost two-thirds of the state’s health care professionals annually and accounts for almost 70 percent of all research funds awarded to public institutions in Texas. The UT System has an annual operating budget of $16.9 billion (FY 2016) including $3 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources. With about 20,000 faculty – including Nobel laureates – and more than 70,000 health care professionals, researchers, student advisors and support staff, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.