The Opportunity
Learn, Lead, and Succeed. Together.
Claremont McKenna College (CMC) is an internationally renowned liberal arts institution, with a uniquely higher education mission to prepare students for thoughtful and productive lives and responsible leadership in business, government, and the professions. CMC pursues its mission by providing a liberal arts education built on a wide-ranging, interwoven curriculum taught by world-class faculty that fosters critical inquiry, advances research and student opportunity across a variety of experiential institutes, centers, and programs, and champions freedom of expression, viewpoint diversity, and constructive dialogue so students can engage with greater curiosity and openness in order to contribute to the growth of everyone around them.
CMC is a tight-knit residential community that thrives through deep intellectual pursuits in the liberal arts; prolific faculty and student research and applied experiential learning in 11 graduate-level institutes and centers; expanded career opportunities and outcomes through the Soll Center for Student Opportunity; and commitments to free expression, viewpoint diversity, and constructive dialogue in The Open Academy and the College’s signature venue for thought leadership and social engagement, the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum.
CMC’s pervasive track record of success derives from taking on big challenges through bold strategic initiatives with demonstrable success. This trajectory creates several exciting communication and storytelling opportunities that will be centered on key leadership areas and themes, most notably, CMC’s new Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences and iconic Robert Day Sciences Center, which will anchor the campus and be completed in summer 2025; CMC’s remarkable return on value, including social mobility for students on financial aid; and the adaptive learning model and national influence of CMC’s Open Academy, including partnerships with leaders in civic engagement and ethical policy making like the Institute for Citizens and Scholars and the Constructive Dialogue Institute; and many others.
Bolstering The CMC Strategy and its emphasis on leadership development and student opportunity, in the past decade, CMC has doubled its endowment, doubled the size of its campus, secured the school’s long-term financial future with the issuance of a 2022 century bond, and recently shattered the campaign record for liberal arts education, raising nearly $1.1 billion, which amounts to more money per student per year on a three-year average than any other college or university in the nation.
This has also resulted in high marks for CMC’s student post-graduate success, as reflected in the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard and other prominent national rankings. The College has produced some of the strongest graduate outcomes in the country, measured by student earning capability, with one of the lowest average debts upon graduation per student in CMC’s national peer group, providing graduates with, according to Raj Chetty, economist and director of Opportunity Insights, one of the highest levels of social mobility in the liberal arts.
Even with all of its recent accomplishments and progress, as President Hiram Chodosh shared in his 2024 State of the College address, “Claremont McKenna College does not sit still for long enough to capture a current condition, status, or state,” and CMC’s “success is accelerating.”
To help continue its momentum and realize future goals, the College seeks nominations and applications for the position of Associate Vice President, Chief Strategic Communications and Marketing Officer (AVP/CSCMO). The CSCMO will be a communications and marketing expert and leader who will harness the power of consistent, coordinated, and proactive creative messaging to drive greater visibility, internal and external awareness of CMC’s unique, mission-driven characteristics, and elevate the College to newer heights in national and international distinction.
The successful candidate will bring an inclusive and facilitative leadership style that inspires, nurtures, and empowers staff, encourages open communication and collaboration throughout the College, and fosters innovation by amplifying content and consumption preferences in the age of social media and multifaceted digital platforms—with distinctive relevance to higher education. Working alongside talented and dedicated staff within communications and marketing, as well as faculty and administrative leaders across the College, this leader will help develop and implement a clear, unified vision for CMC communications and marketing that will engage the campus community and position the College for future success.
This is an exceptional opportunity for a proven leader to initiate positive change and make a lasting impact for one of the world’s leading liberal arts institutions.
Claremont McKenna College has retained Berkhemer Clayton, a national executive search firm, to assist in this search.
Reporting Relationships
The CSCMO will report to the Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer and serve on the President’s Executive Cabinet, working closely with President Chodosh, the Board of Trustees, and College leadership. In turn, this leader will manage the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing, with an in-house team of 12 talented communications professionals, in addition to several outside freelance and agency contractors.
Position Summary
The CSCMO will serve as the leading communications and marketing officer for the College. In partnership with academic and administrative leaders throughout CMC, including the President and CMC’s Board of Trustees, the CSCMO will provide leadership and vision for all internal and external marketing and communications activities for the College, including institutional branding, admission marketing, executive and crisis communications, social media, public and media relations, internal communications, publications, and web editorial services.
As a member of the President’s Executive Cabinet, the CSCMO will be a key advisor to the President, Board, and leadership team, providing counsel on, and executing, an overall communications and marketing strategy that best highlights CMC’s many assets and ensures CMC is consistently, accurately, effectively, inclusively, and more proactively communicating content that supports the College’s mission, vision, and institutional priorities.
The CSCMO will work with campus leaders and the communications and marketing team to develop a clear, unified vision and direction for the team in how best to target and proactively engage broad external and internal audiences, including prospective and current students, board members, parents, alumni, donors, faculty and staff, the academic community, college neighbors, and industry leaders across a range of digital, print, and associated platforms, to include the College website, as well as all social media platforms and all facets of the College’s online presence.
This individual will be tasked with bringing CMC’s brand to life and communicating its story and impressive trajectory to the world at large, with strategies that reflect the institution as a whole, while celebrating the unique strengths and histories of individual departments, academic departments, centers, and institutes, including the scholarly and pedagogical achievements of the faculty, noteworthy achievements of a talented staff, and outstanding students. This will include the invigoration of past practices with fresh, creative tactics, drafts of aligned language, and the modernization of modes of communication, creating integrated campaigns and targeted strategies designed to better communicate content that supports college goals and reflects the CMC of today.
The CSCMO will also be the main point person for crisis communications and will be looked to for direction whenever challenging conditions arise, including participation in the College’s emergency response team to provide accurate, precise, and consistent information.
All of this shall be accomplished with a high level of professionalism and integrity, hands-on contributions, a transparent, team-oriented, and collaborative style, a demonstrated commitment to diversity, inclusion, and a passion for the mission of CMC, and a commitment to identifying and embracing opportunities for change that will move the College forward.
Candidate Profile
The successful candidate will bring the professional experience and leadership style needed to inspire others towards a common vision within the communications and marketing team, and throughout the campus community, with ten or more years of relevant marketing, communications, and/or media relations experience, in positions of increasing responsibility, and at least five years in a supervisory or management capacity.
This leader will have demonstrated success working with organizational leadership to develop successful campaigns and strategies and the willingness and ability to work directly with staff in day-to-day execution of these strategies.
This executive will have a solution-oriented service approach with interpersonal, communication, organizational, and decision-making skills to work effectively and thrive in an inclusive, highly collaborative, and consensus-driven environment. Prior experience successfully leading an organization through change and/or growth highly desired. Current or prior experience in an educational environment would be helpful, but not required.
Education Requirements
Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience required. Advanced degree preferred.
Location
Located on the eastern border of Los Angeles County, just 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles, Claremont is a classic college town. With a size of 14.14 square miles and a population of around 35,000 citizens, Claremont is a primarily residential town boasting tree-lined streets, historic buildings, and nearly 2,000 acres of public parkland, most of which is wilderness. Nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, Claremont has been nationally recognized for its pleasant quality of life. The city was rated by CNNMoney as among the top places to live in the country and received the Tree City USA award from the National Arbor Day Association. The annual average temperature is 63 degrees Fahrenheit.
Compensation
The full annual salary range for the AVP/CSCO position is $195,000 to $225,000. This range takes into account the wide scope of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, internal equity, and other business and organizational needs.
