Here is a brief summary of my experience in higher-education communications and writing. I’d love to talk in more depth about these with you, via phone, email, Twitter, LinkedIn…you name it!
I have always considered myself to me a writer. As a child, it was short stories and poetry. In my teen years, I became a songwriter and passionate about editorial. My undergraduate studies were focused on philosophy and journalism, allowing me to hone both long-form, sophisticated, thesis-driven writing and succinct, fact-based, news writing demanding fast turnarounds. Professionally (and personally), I’m a published magazine writer and blogger, and I have been creating content for major universities for more than six years.
I’ve been involved in higher-ed marketing-communications since I was an undergraduate at Boston University. When I wasn’t writing 30-page philosophy papers, practicing the finer points of journalism (my unofficial minor), or working as a staff member at the Daily Free Press and a student-run magazine (2nd Level), I was managing websites and developing content for the Office of the Dean of Students. After a stint as a public relations practitioner at Schwartz Communications, I returned to BU as an employee and began my true career as a higher-ed communicator.
I was initially the senior programs coordinator in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, which is a fancy way of saying I assisted the Department’s Communications Manager. After the departure of my manager, I assisted the College of Engineering in developing a new role within the Department that would more completely meet its marketing-communications needs. As a result, I became the Publications, New Media, and Promotions Administrator. Besides creating the Department’s website, I also wrote all of its content, including its marketing copy and news stories. In addition, I also wrote all copy for advertising, promotional, and publicity activities and developed and project managed its Annual Report. Ultimately, I took a disorganized, primitive, and ineffective publicity strategy and turned it into a polished, modern, results-based marketing-communications program that served as a model for other departments at the University.
As the Public Communications Officer at the University of North Carolina’s Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History, I also managed all marketing, communications, and writing duties. This included advertisements, publicity materials, publications, press releases, news stories, email campaigns, and its widely-distributed newsletter, Milestones. I faced tremendous budget cuts, but managed to streamline marketing efforts, expand the reach of the Center’s communications, and drive higher participation levels for its programs.
My PR efforts at Schwartz Communications for client LogicLibrary helped the agency win a Publicity Club of New England Bell Ringer Award for “Best Product/Service Publicity: High Tech Campaign.” I wrote numerous press releases and story pitches for a variety of clients ranging from enterprise software businesses to online payments services.
In my senior year of college, I studied abroad in Sydney, Australia. While there, I began interning for one of the country’s major print media companies, nextmedia. The internship I was selected for was to work with Australian Guitar Magazine and Blunt (a magazine focused on independent music). My initial assignments were mostly short pieces such as album reviews. However, after less than two weeks, the editor-in-chief became impressed with my writing and knowledge of the topics covered by the magazines and I was asked to collaborate on the cover story for an upcoming issue of Australian Guitar. I ended up authoring a third of a long piece on the history of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 
After this “trial-run,” the editor began assigning me sole authorship of both features and cover stories in both magazines. I was interviewing the likes of Blink-182, Limp Bizkit, Brand New, and The Offspring, and my work was featured prominently in both publications. Because of my success as a writer there, I was transitioned from an intern to a contributing writer, a position I held for several months, even after I returned to the United States (eventually, they were forced to work exclusively with domestic writers as a matter of policy).
I hope that between my cover letter, resumé, and this webpage, you have gleaned an understanding of why I would be perfect for the role of Assistant Director, Communications for the College of Engineering at UC Berkeley. I have an extensive history of creating strong content for universities, businesses, and digital and traditional media and a love for higher education. If you have any questions about my application or anything else, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Gordon Ryan
