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AMA Foundation Higher Education Marketer of the Year Award

AMA Foundation Higher Education Marketer of the Year Award

The AMA Higher Education Marketer of the Year Awards honor extraordinary leadership and achievement in the field of higher education marketing and are brought to you by the AMA Foundation and its founding sponsor Lipman Hearne.

Click here to nominate!


2022 AMAF Higher Education Marketer of the Year

Kate Ledger

Acting Vice Chancellor, University Communications and Marketing
University of Pittsburgh


Kate Ledger is passionate about developing and promoting powerful brands, building and leading strong teams and driving strategic marketing in higher education. Currently serving as the Acting Vice Chancellor for University Communications and Marketing at the University of Pittsburgh, Kate has worked in five different marketing roles across Pitt, progressively increasing the size and scope of her teams. She launched the university’s first master brand in 2019 and the first university-wide brand campaign in 2022 as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Marketing while at the same time leading COVID-19 communications for the university.

During her time as Executive Director of Marketing and Engagement in the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, Kate led the marketing and on campus visit teams, helping to increase the quality of Pitt’s incoming class and exceed enrollment goals each year. Among many creative projects, she helped the team implement Salesforce, automate more than 800 segmented emails and rebrand the campus visit program. She is most fond of throwing confetti for deposits – a favorite Pitt tradition.

Kate served as the marketing and communications leader in the Katz Graduate School of Business, College of Business Administration, Office of the Provost and the Swanson School of Engineering at Pitt. She also learned valuable lessons in the agency and corporate worlds. Kate earned her B.A. from Penn State University and M.Ed. from Pitt. She and her high school sweetheart are raising their two awesome kids and spunky dog in Pittsburgh.


Eligibility

The AMA Foundation Higher Education Marketer of the Year Awards are brought to you by the AMA Foundation and Lipman Hearne

To be eligible for the AMA Higher Education Marketer of the Year Awards, individual nominees and teams must be currently employed at a higher education institution with focus on the branding, marketing, and communications aspects of a college or university. All nominees will be considered regardless of organization size and budget. There will be two awards bestowed, one award recognizing an individual thought leader and one award recognizing an outstanding marketing team.

All nominees will receive notification of their candidacy and will be required to complete and submit a candidate profile form for further consideration that provides additional information on the candidate’s experience in the categories below.

A panel consisting of a mix of marketing experts and practitioners will serve on the selection committee.  All judges will be leaders and experts in the field of higher education marketing with careers as marketing academics, consultants, and practitioners. 

Upon reviewing the candidate profiles, the top three finalists will be asked to submit a video and invited to attend the 2022 Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education. The winner will be decided by conference attendees, and the winning team will be announced at the conference.


Award Criteria

Vision and leadership, such as:

  • How the candidate’s work has helped advance or transform the field of higher education marketing
  • How the candidate’s work has helped transform their organization
  • Thought leadership in the form of speaking and writing on higher education marketing
  • Recognition by peers in the field

Strategy, such as:

  • Breakthroughs and advances in organizing and planning in the context of higher education organizations
  • Development of unique methodologies
  • Effective collaboration inside the organization and with outside partners
  • Creative approaches to marketing problem solving and communications

Results, such as:

  • Employment of effective methods of measurement
  • Achievement of the organization’s goals, both immediate and over time
  • Innovative use of social media, technology or other emerging tools or trends to advance higher education marketing practices

Recognition and Benefits

Award winners will be announced and honored at the 2022 Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education. Recipients of the 2022 AMA Higher Education Marketer of the Year Awards will receive:

Complimentary Registration to the 2022 Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education

Recognition and award presentation at the luncheon held at the 2022 Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education

Post Conference recognition via AMA communication channels


Questions?

Learn more about the AMA Foundation and the AMA Foundation Higher Education Marketer of the Year Awards

Please contact AMA Customer Support with any questions (customersupport@ama.org).