Holy Cross College Finds New Leadership for Marketing, Communications and Public Relations
NOTRE DAME, IN (August 15, 2007) — Holy Cross College has been undergoing dramatic transformations in the last five years. From a junior college to a fully accredited four-year institution with sports teams, dorms, and Baccalaureate degree programs. The College has been growing rapidly and would like to change its image just as fast.
Helping to change public perception is part of the job description for the new Director of Marketing, Communications and Public Relations, Mike Davids.
“With his unique experience as a marketer, publisher, editor and teacher, Mike Davids is the right person to help us publicize the dramatic changes at Holy Cross College to high school students, their parents and the general public,” says Holy Cross President, Brother Richard Gilman, C.S.C., Ph.D.
After successful careers in advertising and publishing, what brings Mr. Davids to Holy Cross College? “I was interested in the position of Marketing Director at Holy Cross because on my first trip to campus, I fell in love with the place. I met intelligent, caring people with an important story to tell. I wanted to help them get the word out,” says Davids.
“I’ll be doing some of everything for the college which is the way I like it. I’ll write and edit the college magazine, do public relations, direct advertising efforts, create direct mail, brochures and signage. I may also supervise student interns who want to learn about advertising and marketing communications,” he continued.
“Holy Cross College is a relatively undiscovered gem. For a college experience, it uniquely offers the best of both worlds! It has the intimate atmosphere you can only find at a small college — a place where all your professors know you by your first name — and, yet you can walk across the street to Notre Dame University and experience all the excitement and social opportunities of a large campus. What’s more, with the ground breaking ceremony of the new Pfeil Recreation Center last month, the students will soon be cheering on their own Saints in NAIA sanctioned athletic events. The Saints team slogan, ‘Champions of Character,’ aligns with the mission here at Holy Cross,” Davids continued.
Most recently Mike Davids was a marketing consultant with his own business, Creativforce, and a Creative Director at Newcomb Marketing Solutions in Michigan City, IN. Mike’s experience includes stints as Creative Director for Kobs, Gregory, Passavant an ad agency on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, and as Creative Director for Nightingale-Conant Publishing Company in Niles, IL.
His award-winning copywriting and marketing strategies have generated results for a wide variety of corporations and nonprofit organizations including The Field Museum, Encyclopedia Britannica, PolyJohn Enterprises, The AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Nightingale-Conant Corporation, Reimann Publishing, AARP Pharmacy Service and others.
Mike holds a BA from the University of Iowa, an MALS from Wesleyan University, a Graduate Certificate in Direct Marketing from DePaul University, and was a 1975 graduate of Bishop Noll Institute. Mike lives in Chesterton, IN with his wife Susan Davids, a high school science teacher and his two school-age children.
Holy Cross College has already invested in outdoor athletic fields and is now building a $5.5 million Student Recreation Center. These improvements will complete the infrastructure for a 4-year college and lead to some very exciting times in the future of this institution.
Published 8/30/2007