April 28, 2005

Staff Profile: Gina Myerson

Director of marketing and external communications for the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science created a non-profit foundation to support local schools

When Julio Ottino became dean of the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science in March, Gina Myerson began working with the third dean in her four years on the job. As director of marketing and external communications for McCormick, she is the school’s principal messenger. When asked if it has been difficult to “switch gears” with each new administration, she points out that the institutional goal — to make McCormick the best possible engineering school — remains unchanged. The differences have been in personalities and tactics.

Among the many things she’s learned along the way is that any good engineering story starts not with a shiny machine, but with the human element.

What is the breadth of your responsibility?

In general, I promote McCormick’s brand. I work with virtually every department within the school to create and shape the message and deliver it to all of our constituencies. That means students, faculty, staff, alumni, prospective students, business leaders and our counterparts at engineering schools around the world. And we get out that message using all media, from print to video to the web, and even face-to-face interaction.

What is the McCormick message?

We’re striving for excellence at all levels and in all the things we do.

How is this goal tailored specifically for McCormick in 2005?

We aim to raise our national rankings — both undergraduate and graduate — to reflect that excellence. And we want to send our students, faculty and alumni out into the world as emissaries to spread the good word about what we do here.

Going back, can you describe the face-to-face interaction?

What excites me about working with Dean Ottino is his enthusiasm and his assertiveness in reaching out to all of the members of our community. He’s already hosted separate public meetings for students, faculty and staff to share his vision and explain how they can help us move forward. He’s drawn impressive crowds at each of these meetings, and what I really like is that he’s tailored his talks to each group and encourages input that we’ll use to refine our message and, later, to shape our tactics. He actually says to people, “Let me know your ideas. Your opinion matters.”

Before coming to Northwestern, you worked in a wide variety of fields. What have been some of the highlights?

I earned degrees in education and counseling psychology, and I have an MBA. I’ve spent time at corporations, education institutions and non-profits. When my children were in the Wilmette school district, I created a foundation to help gather funds to support our schools. It turned out to be a useful way for members of the community to get involved in developing alliances with state and private funders.

What makes a good engineering story?

First of all, it has to be something that really sets us apart, that differentiates us from other schools. And I always want to bring out the human element in a story. We might be talking about the most impressive and expensive piece of machinery of its kind. On its own, that’s not compelling. It’s the man or woman who brought it here and who’s working with our students to do scientific research at its best. That’s interesting. I relish meeting such bright and interesting people who’re dedicated and driven to make major impacts on society. We say engineers make things people want — things that will change the world.

 — Stephen Anzaldi