Nichole Rustad named associate vice president for university communications and marketing at Wright State

Nichole Rustad is the new associate vice president for university communications and marketing at Wright State University.

Nichole Rustad, a veteran creative, marketing and communications professional, has joined Wright State University as associate vice president for university communications and marketing.

“As a Dayton native, I’ve cheered on Wright State’s successes, and I’ve been impressed with the resiliency shown by the entire Raider community,” Rustad said. “I’m excited to continue elevating Wright State’s reputation by highlighting what we do best — providing a quality education at an incredible price. And we’ll do it through strategic, data-driven processes and strong partnerships that will help further advance the university’s vision and goals.”

As associate vice president of university communications and marketing at Wright State, Rustad is responsible for providing vision, strategy and oversight for all communications and marketing functions.

She oversees university communications, which includes public relations and the Wright State Newsroom; brand identity and visual strategy; marketing strategy and audience engagement, including campaign development, marketing and communication planning, and social media; and web strategy.

Rustad also serves as the chief spokesperson for the university and is a member of the President’s Council.

“Nichole’s understanding of the competitive landscape of higher education, her knowledge and familiarity with the Dayton region, and her leadership and strategic vision will be tremendous assets to Wright State and our communications and marketing teams,” said Susan Schaurer, vice president for enrollment management at Wright State.

Rustad has spent the last 13 years at the University of Dayton, where she most recently served as the executive director of advancement communications in University Marketing and Communications.

She worked closely with UD’s executive leadership team to develop strategic marketing and communication plans and content for internal, alumni, media, philanthropic and parent engagement endeavors.

Most recently, she led the marketing strategy and implementation for the university’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign in more than 20 years. Work completed to promote the campaign received three CASE Excellence Awards.

Rustad has spent her professional career in Raider Country. In addition to her marketing and communications roles at the University of Dayton, she has served as an adjunct professor at Sinclair Community College and UD and as an art director and graphic designer at several Dayton-area firms, including Nichole Rustad Design.