Janene Tate

EDUCATION M.A., Mass Communication (Public Relations), Southern University, Baton Rouge, La. (December 2005) B.A., Mass Communication (Print), Southern University, Baton Rouge, La. (May 2004)

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

2012-Present Assistant Vice President for Communications, Public Relations and Marketing, The University of New Orleans, La. Oversees staff operations, including directly supervising directors of marketing, Web strategy and campus radio station. Approves internal and external media and marketing materials; meet with all staff regularly to assign and stay abreast of projects; Attends meetings, when appropriate, in the absence of the Vice President; Approves fiscal requests within the department, including vendor and advertising interests; Works closely with the Vice President in personnel matters (i.e., hiring, leaves of absence); Prepares concise reports of departmental matters for the Vice President; Meets with and lead staff, as appropriate, in marketing, public relations and communications projects, including major advertising campaigns.

2007---2012 Communications Specialist, Tuskegee, Ala. Also served as Interim Director in July 2012. Composed and distributed press releases and other information to local, regional and international media outlets; wrote and edited material, and strategized content and appearance of University website and publications; wrote scripts for broadcast advertisements; developed and executed effective advertising campaigns; planned media placement; developed and presented overall campus marketing strategy; planned events; and arranged interviews for the university president and other officials. Wrote copy, edited, chose photography for the appeals for University Advancement, Admissions and other departments. Increased media coverage and interest; secured agreements with media tracking/database services; and launched social media communications and campaigns. Served as adviser to student newspaper. Assigned articles, photography/video and other duties to staff; supervised staff in absence of vice president; consulted other departments across campus; approved materials of other departments; presidential appointee of Convocations and Special Events committee; member of Enrollment and Retention Management Committee (co---chair of Marketing and Retention subcommittee). Worked with various vendors.

Major projects included: Coordination of media coverage and event planning for campus/national release of George Lucas’ “Red Tails” feature film (generated media coverage across the U.S. before, during and after event); assisted with coordination of production and location scouting for NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are,” “Your Life is Calling” segment for NBC’s “Today Show,” and “Dancing on the Ceiling,” a Lionel Richie documentary for BBC; media and promotional campaigns for the opening of the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, UNCF “Evening of Stars;” and Tom Joyner Foundation School of the Month. Arranged media and planned visit of Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff; arranged media and planned visit of Valerie Jarrett, adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama. Helped compose and execute the university’s new branding and marketing/media policies.

2006---2007 News copy editor/designer, Columbus Ledger---Enquirer Columbus, Ga. Edited news articles for content and grammar, according to Associated Press guidelines; designed the Metro section of the daily newspaper and weekly East Alabama News publication; made decisions about publication of articles and photos throughout the publication.

2004---2006 Chair of Public Relations, LIFE AIDS Los Angeles, Calif. Worked closely with the Black AIDS Institute and other organizations to create and disseminate press materials and plan events for colleges and universities. Also arranged appearances of speakers and served as speaker/presenter on several occasions.

1999---2005 Editor in Chief/Graduate Assist. The Southern Digest Baton Rouge, La. Served as editor in chief of official newspaper of Southern University---Baton Rouge. Supervised staff of 25. Responsible for copy editing, lay out, reporting. Held previous positions from 1999---2004. Also was included in several management decisions and served as assistant to the director of the Office of Student Media. Previous positions included writer, designer and section editor.

2003---2004 Writer, Look Magazine Atlanta, Ga. Wrote articles on education, entertainment and culture for this quarterly magazine.

2002---2004 Contributor, The Weekly New Orleans, La. Wrote news and entertainment articles issues concerning minorities in Louisiana for this weekly newspaper.

2003---2004 Features Editor, YARDStyle magazine New York, N.Y. Compiled information about entertainment, educational and cultural issues concerning black college students. Responsible for content of features section and copy editing of section.

2002---2004 Editor in Chief, The Jaguar yearbook Baton Rouge, La. Served as editor in chief for 288---page hard---back publication for Southern University---Baton Rouge. Supervised staff of 15. Responsible for copy editing, lay out, reporting, research.

2002---2003 Lifestyles Writer, The Westside Journal Port Allen, La. Responsible for content, copy editing and lay out of lifestyles section for weekly newspaper of West Baton Rouge Parish.

2000---2004 Contributor, Black College Wire Washington, D.C. Wrote articles on education and lifestyles of black college students for website. 2000---2002 College Representative, Atlantic Records New York, N.Y. Planned events, assisted with artists’ appearances and concerts, and helped strategize unique distribution of press materials and products.

INTERNSHIPS

SUMMER 2005 Public Affairs Intern, Southern University System Office of the President Baton Rouge, La. Responsible for content and copy editing of The Jaguar Nation magazine, a publication of the System office, which is the headquarters for five campuses. Assisted with event promotion, conference calls and administrative duties, proposals. Responsible for press releases, e---mails, media contacts, etc.

SUMMER 2004 Copy Editor, Belleville News---Democrat (Belleville, Ill.) Responsible for copy editing, headline writing of two---edition publication. Also assisted with pagination of select sections.

SUMMER 2003 Copy editor/writer, New York Times Student Journalism Institute, New Orleans, La. Chosen as one of 35 students from across the U.S. to participate in summer program taught by various journalism professionals (New York Times, Boston Globe, etc.) Responsibilities of internship included research, reporting and copy editing.

COMPUTER/SOFTWARE SKILLS Familiar with PC and Mac; Adobe software (Photoshop, In Design, Acrobat, etc.); Microsoft applications (Word, Power Point, Excel, etc.); Vocus media tracking and contact compilation software; TV Eyes broadcast media tracking software.

PROFESSIONAL/VOLUNTEER AFFILIATIONS Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), member National Association of Black Journalists, member Public Relations Society of America, member Black College Communications Association, board member (2008---Present) Medical AIDS Outreach of Alabama, board member and chair of public relations/media REFERENCES

Dr. Valerie White Director, Graduate Program Florida A&M University School of Journalism and Graphic Communication Tallahassee, Fla. 850---599---3650 (office) 478---396---7937 (mobile) [email protected] [email protected]

Kawana McGough Interim Director, Communications, Public Relations and Marketing Tuskegee University Office of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing Tuskegee, Ala. 334---724---4649 (office) 334---552---1291 (mobile) [email protected]

Gabrielle M. Lee Account Supervisor Fleishman Hillard New York, N.Y. 212---453---2137 (office) 225---255---0953 (mobile) [email protected]