Julie Peterson, BA’84,MBA’89, leads the<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Chicago’scommunications team.Lloyd DeGraneStrategic Communicatorby Russell JacksonTwenty years after attaining anadvanced degree, Julie Peterson,BA’84, MBA’89, has yet to leave college.She’s worked in university communicationssince then — indeed, she startedduring her pursuit <strong>of</strong> her MBA — and hasseen first hand how both the medium andthe message have changed during that time.As the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Chicago’s vice presidentfor communications, Peterson servesas the media maven for the school’s effortsto achieve its strategic goals. She spoke toNewswire about university communicationsexecutives’ challenges in the information ageand about her decidedly low-tech, not-sosecretindulgence.Newswire: Describe your day-to-day tasks.Julie Peterson: Since coming to Chicago three years ago, I’ve beenresponsible for strategic communications for the whole university.Working with the board <strong>of</strong> trustees, the president, the provost, the administrationand academic leadership across the institution, I supportthe highest ambitions <strong>of</strong> the university. That includes specific focuses,such as increasing financial support for priorities such as student scholarshipsand for the arts, and expanding alumni engagement. We’realso working to make sure prospective students get a picture <strong>of</strong> whatthe campus community is like.Newswire: Is that a change from your job duties at yourprevious posts at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Michigan and at IU?Peterson: Well, I haven’t lost any responsibilities. I’ve just addedmore. I still worry about telling the university’s story. I still worry aboutthe administrative operations <strong>of</strong> the university and about makingsure communications support those operations. Now, there’s anotherlayer on top <strong>of</strong> that — the really high-level strategic goals. How doeswhat’s happening in Washington, D.C., affect our researchers, forexample? How do we interact with the communities around us so theyunderstand that the university is a good citizen? What do we tell ourworldwide alumni audience about our activities? Indeed, how do weengage on a global scale, as opposed to a regional or national scale?I work with the long-term and major implications <strong>of</strong> events for theuniversity down the road.< 36 > newswire / Fall 2010
Newswire: What were your previous posts like, by comparison?Peterson: Each role has been broader than the one before,depending on what level <strong>of</strong> the enterprise I’ve been engaged in.I was a news writer and managing editor <strong>of</strong> the news bureauat IU from 1985 until 1994, working on the music and businessschools and a lot <strong>of</strong> individual faculty research. I helped get theword out about the work being done and the successes beingachieved. Of course, we didn’t have the Web or other new mediaoutlets at the time, but media relations was a big part <strong>of</strong> the job,because we worked through the news media a great deal. Myjournalism degree was directly relevant because I needed to knowhow journalists see things. In fact, at IU, I was a journalist onbehalf <strong>of</strong> the university. My job was to tell its story.Newswire: Can you give us a for-instance?Peterson: We launched a housing affordability index out <strong>of</strong>the business school, which looked at major cities in <strong>Indiana</strong> andcreated a comparative affordability index. We published thatstory with city-specific data, then did the same with populationtrends and economic forecasting. I was part <strong>of</strong> the team that putthat information out so people could see that one <strong>of</strong> their publicuniversities was doing important things.Newswire: After a stint at IU, you moved a few hundredmiles to the northeast and settled at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Michigan.What was life like there?Peterson: Layered on top <strong>of</strong> the news reporting I did at IU, Ibegan to engage as well with the administration <strong>of</strong> the university,working with the athletic department, for example, or the medicalcenter — basically, all <strong>of</strong> the administrative and operations areas<strong>of</strong> the institution. I was hired as news director and ultimatelybecame responsible for all public affairs communications, servingas the media spokesperson and leading all communicationsrelated to the 1997 affirmative action lawsuits that resulted in alandmark Supreme Court ruling in 2003.Newswire: <strong>The</strong> other issues you dealt with must have seemedeasy compared to that.Peterson: I was involved in all kinds <strong>of</strong> sticky issues — labor negotiations,student protests, alcohol use and, <strong>of</strong> course, any legalissues. I was really responsible for creating an issues managementapproach there. <strong>The</strong> things I learned at Michigan allowed me todo some teaching on that topic, too. I developed an expertise inissues management and crisis communication.Newswire: Can you give us an example?Peterson: Michigan voters passed a constitutional amendmentoutlawing same-sex marriage, and then there was a lawsuit filedagainst another school outlawing benefits for domestic partners.That was a huge issue for the university because partner benefitswere crucial to attracting a talented faculty and staff. If we lostthe right to <strong>of</strong>fer that benefit, we would not be as competitive asother enterprises. If there’s a legal ruling that says we can’t <strong>of</strong>ferthose benefits, in other words, that’s an operations problem forus. I was very involved in developing internal communications tohelp our employees feel valued and to let them know we wouldremain an inclusive community.My journalism degree was directlyrelevant because I needed to knowhow journalists see things. In fact, atIU, I was a journalist on behalf <strong>of</strong> theuniversity. My job was to tell its story.Newswire: If the affirmative action win at UM was your mostrewarding experience, what has been your most challenging?Peterson: I love everything about what I do. I get through thedifficult experiences by understanding that communications arenecessary to making things work and, even in difficult circumstances,I’m pleased to be in that environment. That said, thetoughest situation is always anything related to budget reductions.At UM, for example, we had several years with massivestate funding cuts. It’s hard to figure out what to cut and howto communicate those decisions. It’s especially difficult when itinvolves lay<strong>of</strong>fs <strong>of</strong> people you know and work with. That’s reallyhard stuff.Newswire: What if you disagree with the university’sstrategic direction?Peterson: I’m at the table as part <strong>of</strong> the decision-makingprocess, helping the other executives think through the effects <strong>of</strong>our decisions on stakeholders. We make those decisions with fullknowledge that no decision is ever loved by everybody. My jobis to help make sure we’ve actively considered all the voices weneed to consider and that we’re aware <strong>of</strong> the tensions amongthe competing values so we don’t proceed in ignorance. I havenever felt I had to sell a decision I didn’t agree with.Newswire: Let’s lighten things up. What’s the most fun you’vehad on the job?Peterson: In the communications business, we tend to overestimatepassive forms <strong>of</strong> communications and underestimate interaction.We broke ground in May for an arts center, a wonderfulcenterpiece for campus and community arts. To promote it, Isuggested and then saw to fruition a really spectacular event full<strong>of</strong> performing arts — an event to demonstrate what the centeris for, full <strong>of</strong> theater and music and visual arts. I was really proud<strong>of</strong> that.Newswire: You compared “passive communications” to “interaction.”That segues nicely into another question: How do youuse new media in your work?Peterson: At IU, <strong>of</strong> course, we didn’t have a lot <strong>of</strong> new mediatools, so we used the traditional news media, which acted assomething <strong>of</strong> a filter, deciding what it thought was interestingand writing about it however it wanted. Technology now allowsus to communicate directly to an audience that’s interested in us— using our website and creating multimedia presentations, linksto additional resources, and ultimately an immersive experiencefor people interested in understanding the university.Fall 2010 / newswire < 37 >
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