Sewanee’s Mark Kelly Named VP for Marketing and Public Relations at Furman University

GREENVILLE, SC – September 20, 2010 – Mark Kelly, executive director of Marketing and Communications at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., has been named vice president for Marketing and Public Relations at Furman University.

Kelly will begin his duties at Furman on Oct. 25.

“We welcome Mark Kelly to the Furman family,” said university president Rod Smolla. “He is an accomplished strategist who will bring experience, vision and leadership to our continuing efforts to build relationships that encourage understanding of and engagement with Furman’s mission, nationally and internationally.”Kelly, a native of Baltimore, has served at Sewanee since 2007, where he was responsible for all communications and marketing activities for the national liberal arts college of 1,500 undergraduates.

Prior to that, Kelly spent 19 years at Loyola College in Baltimore, first as director of Public Relations (1988-2003) and then as assistant vice president and director of Public Relations (2003-07).  He also served the university as interim director of Alumni Relations on two different occasions, and taught undergraduate courses in public relations writing.

Kelly began his career in higher education as public information director for the University of South Carolina-Aiken (1985-88).  Prior to that, he was a reporter for The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle and The Daily Herald in Roanoke Rapids, N.C.

He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1980 with a B.A. degree in English, and earned a M.S. degree in Communications Management from The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

Kelly is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, the Rotary Club of Monteagle, Tenn., and serves on the board of the Franklin County (Tenn.) Chamber of Commerce.

“I am honored to have been called to Furman,” Kelly said. “It is an institution with great momentum, built not only on its recent successes but also on an enduring foundation of liberal arts education and service to the broader community. As a new era begins, there is great opportunity to strengthen its role in South Carolina and in the country, and I am excited to be a part of it.”For more information, contact Furman’s News and Media Relations office at 864-294-3107.