Introducing William Warren, Vice Chancellor for Communications and Marketing

April 4, 2024

Dear Rutgers–New Brunswick and Rutgers Health Communities:

We are pleased to announce the appointment of William Warren as Vice Chancellor for Communications and Marketing, effective June 1, 2024. It is rare to find a communications leader who is experienced and adept in serving the many diverse needs of a top-ranked Research 1 institution and university healthcare system such as that spanned by Rutgers–New Brunswick and Rutgers Health, but Mr. Warren has the experience, expertise, and temperament to fulfill these roles admirably at Rutgers.

Mr. Warren currently serves Stony Brook University as Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, a cabinet-level position in which he rebuilt the marketing and communications function and established a leadership team with seasoned professionals in digital advertising and communications, crisis communications and issues management, media relations, executive communications, and marketing. He leads all marketing and communications for Stony Brook’s academic and research enterprise, Stony Brook Medicine, and Stony Brook Medicine Healthcare System.

He joined Stony Brook after 10 years at the University of Utah as Vice President and the university’s first Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, where he built a marketing and communications team that included crisis communications, issues management, digital strategy, and creative services. He previously served as Vice President of Communications at CA Technologies and held senior communications roles at MCI, ARCO, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and The Coca-Cola Company. As a journalist, he published articles in the Hartford Courant, New York Daily News, and The New York Times. He also worked in New York politics and government as a policy advisor and speechwriter.

At Rutgers, Mr. Warren will lead R-Comm, the central marketing and communications department that supports the Rutgers–New Brunswick and Rutgers Health chancellors. R-Comm works seamlessly, collaboratively, and digital-first to deliver high-quality reputation promotion with an outsize impact on the Rutgers community, our academic partners, and the world at large. In the last six months, R-Comm has brought 6.6 million unique visitors to published media placements, earned 1.2 million views to our home domains (newbrunswick.rutgers.edu and rutgershealth.org), 7 million social media impressions across all platforms, more than 300,000 video views, and more than 6 million out-of-home impressions. In addition to producing award-winning work and executing multi-channel national marketing campaigns, R-Comm focuses on brand platform development, media relations, academic health and Rutgers Health clinical care marketing, speech writing and coaching, and more.

As he advances Rutgers–New Brunswick and Rutgers Health, Mr. Warren will work closely and collaboratively with Vice President for University Communications and Marketing Kim Manning and the universitywide communications team at University Communications and Marketing (UCM).

Mr. Warren will succeed Associate Vice Chancellor for Communications and Marketing Melissa Blake, who led R-Comm on an interim basis following the July 2023 departure of former Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications Jennifer Hollingshead. Ms. Blake will continue in her role as Associate Vice Chancellor.

Please join us in welcoming Vice Chancellor Warren and in thanking Associate Vice Chancellor Blake for her exemplary service to two large and complex chancellor-led units as the interim leader of R-Comm.

Sincerely,

Francine Conway, Ph.D.
Chancellor, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Brian L. Strom, M.D., M.P.H.
Chancellor, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences