Julia Ferrante Appointed Vice President for Communications and Marketing

Middlebury President Ian Baucom shared the following email with the campus community on December 5.

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to share the exciting news that I have appointed Julia Ferrante as the next vice president for communications and marketing, effective December 8. In this role, Julia will provide strategic direction and counsel for all of Middlebury’s communications and marketing work. Since July, she has served as interim vice president, guiding our teams with skill and steadiness through a period of significant activity and transition.

In her new role, Julia will serve as a member of our Senior Leadership Group, reporting to Sue Ritter, chief of staff to the president. She will continue to oversee all media relations, crisis and issues management, thought leadership, internal communications, digital marketing, advertising, social media, content, and creative services. She succeeds David Gibson, who stepped down in June.

Julia came to Middlebury five years ago, in June 2020, when she was hired in the new position of associate vice president for public affairs—shortly after the pandemic forced Middlebury and most other colleges to finish the year remotely. She stepped up immediately and led the College’s COVID communications work as we navigated remote and hybrid learning, a Zoom Commencement and Reunion, and, eventually, our return to in-person operations. In her time here, Julia has played a central role in shaping our communications during important moments and events.

Over the past five months, I have asked Julia to lead the communications work on several complex and demanding projects, including our announcement of the wind down of programs at the Middlebury Institute in Monterey, the presidential inauguration, the kickoff of our strategic planning initiative, the launch of presidential social media accounts, and crisis communications. Julia also stepped in at a time when the Senior Leadership Group was asked to closely examine all spending, and she presented and executed on a plan to realign communications and marketing resources to better support institutional priorities, especially undergraduate admissions.

We are fortunate to have her great depth of experience in all facets of communications and marketing, spanning 17 years at several national liberal arts colleges. Prior to coming to Middlebury, Julia served as executive director of communications and marketing at Connecticut College, where she led marketing, Admissions communication, the web, content, and design teams, and college and athletics social media as well as media relations and crisis communications.

Previously, Julia served as director of news and media relations at Mount Holyoke College where, among other achievements, she managed the media response and public rollout of the most inclusive transgender admissions policy among women’s colleges, resulting in extensive national media coverage.

She began her higher education career with positions at Bucknell University and Franklin & Marshall College, where she served as director of media relations and college spokesperson, working closely with the president to position F&M as a leader in higher education and college access.

A graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a bachelor’s degree in history, Julia made the transition to higher education following a 15-year career in journalism that included six years as a government reporter with The Tampa Tribune and four years with The Ledger in Lakeland, Florida. Throughout her career as a news and features reporter, she covered a range of beats including higher education, religion, criminal courts, health and hospitals, and Native American tribes and casinos. 

Julia has proven time and again to be a highly skilled and collaborative leader with a sophisticated understanding of Middlebury, the challenging higher education landscape, and opportunities to adapt and excel in our current times. We are grateful to have someone of her caliber and blend of experience on our leadership team. Please join me in congratulating Julia in this new role.

Sincerely,

Ian B. Baucom
President