why does a university need a CMO?

[xchrom]

http://www.nationofchange.org/why-does-university-need-cmo-1357740960



The "ivory tower" of academia has become overshadowed by a new edifice on campus that is reaching ridiculous heights: the tower of mammon.

As public universities have been driven by budget-whacking lawmakers to seek ever-more private funding, schools that once prided themselves as being centers of free thinking are increasingly dominated by corporate-think, turning their institutions into sales centers.

"A lot of schools are taking a much more corporate approach," exulted a PR executive who works with top university administrators, marveling that "a CMO didn't even exist on most campuses 10 years ago."

A what? A chief marketing officer, whose job is to peddle the place like it's a new model of car or line of cosmetics. As explained by the CMO of the University of California system, "the changing funding landscape" requires universities to sell themselves to moneyed elites, which means academic institutions must rework what he calls "their visual identities." In the snappy new parlance of university commercialism, this is "rebranding" — an attempt to modernize the image of venerable institutions by adopting corporate-styled logos, slogans and other marketing fluff.

[PETRUS]

1. K&R