PHAIRADVANTAGE - Key Persons

Judith T. (Judy) Phair is president of PhairAdvantage Communications, LLC, an independent consulting firm founded in 2002. She is a seasoned public relations executive with extensive experience in strategic planning, branding, global public relations and marketing, media relations, fund raising, and legislative relations. From 2006 until March, 2010, Judy served as vice president, communications, for the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), an association of 182 top graduate business schools around the world and the owner of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). Judy led the Council's worldwide strategic communications planning, overseeing marketing, advertising, media relations, and print/electronic communications activities. She headed a major branding initiative for GMAC and the GMAT as well as the redesign of the GMAC website, and implemented an extensive international media relations and advertising campaign, with a special focus on European and Asian markets. Judy and PhairAdvantage Communications have consulted on branding, public relations, marketing, and media relations for numerous clients, including the American Council on Education, Council of Independent Colleges, the University System of Maryland/Universities at Shady Grove, National Association of College Admission Counseling, Graduate Management Admission Council, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Tennessee, and Drexel University, among others. Earlier, Judy was vice president for public affairs at the Council on Competitiveness, a nonpartisan, nonprofit Washington, D.C.-based association of corporate chief executives, university presidents, and labor leaders. She also has served as vice president for institutional advancement at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, assistant dean of external relations at Johns Hopkins University, and vice president for public relations at Goucher College, in addition to positions at the University of Michigan and University of Cincinnati. Judy began her career as a newspaper reporter in the Chicago area. She has been an adjunct faculty member at Goucher College, developing the college's first public relations course, and at Towson University. Judy was 2005 President and CEO of the 22,000-member Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the largest organization of public relations professionals in the world. In October 2010, she received PRSA's highest individual award, the 2010 Gold Anvil Award. It is considered PRSA's Lifetime Achievement Award and is presented to an individual "whose work significantly advanced the profession and set high standards for those engaged in the practice of public relations." In late 2013, PRSA's largest chapter, the National Capital Chapter, inducted Judy into its Hall of Fame. Earlier, the Maryland Chapter of PRSA honored Judy with its Lifetime Achievement Award, and her work has been recognized with numerous other awards in public relations, publications, marketing, and crisis communications. Judy is a frequent speaker on public relations and marketing issues, with appearances in China, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Croatia as well as the United States. She also writes extensively in the field. She is past chair of PRSA's prestigious College of Fellows, co-chair of its Educational Affairs Committee and PRSA representative on the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC). Judy has been a member of the University of Maryland Alumni Association Board of Governors and Chair of the University of Maryland Arts and Humanities Alumni Association Chapter Board and member of the board of directors, American Red Cross, Central Maryland Chapter. She has been active in the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), chairing regional and national events and judging in the national awards program. Judy received her B.A. in communications from Simmons College in Boston and M.A. in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park. Judy Phair, a public relations executive with more than 30 years of experience in marketing, media relations, fund raising, legislative relations, and communications, heads PhairAdvantage. Judy founded PhairAdvantage in 2002, building upon a career as a senior level executive at the Council on Competitiveness in Washington, D.C.; the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and Goucher College, and extensive marketing and communications consulting experience. Her four years as vice president for communications at the Graduate Management Admission Council have further honed her expertise with associations and with business education, and greatly expanded her international portfolio. She has a strong record of solid performance - and measurable results.

Michael S. Roth

Job Titles:

President, Wesleyan University ( 32 )

Patricia McGuire

Job Titles:

President, Trinity Washington University ( 14 )

Ricardo Azziz

Job Titles:

President, Georgia Regents University ( 10 )

Robert L. Breuder

Job Titles:

President, College of DuPage ( 10 )

Robert M. Myers

Job Titles:

President, Toccoa Falls College ( 12 )

Roland H. King

Job Titles:

Communications Advisor
Senior Strategic Communications Advisor

Roland H. King is Senior Strategic Communications Advisor at PhairAdvantage Communications. He most recently served as Vice President for Public Affairs at the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) in Washington, D.C., for 15 years, retiring in 2013. NAICU's members are the presidents of nearly 1,000 private colleges and universities, as well as the CEOs of more than 70 specialized private college associations. Roland's responsibilities with the association encompassed public relations, media relations, publications, the association's websites and social media efforts, and as primary writer/editor for all of NAICU's communications with members, opinion leaders, and the general public. Before joining NAICU, Roland was Director of University Relations at the University of Maryland at College Park, where he served as university spokesperson, directed the university's public relations efforts, and oversaw both a video production unit and the weekly faculty/staff newspaper. Previously, he had similar responsibilities as Director of Media and External Relations at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Earlier in his career, he consulted with educational institutions on marketing/communication issues, specializing in the evaluation and restructuring of public relations and publications programs. His full-time positions during this period were as senior vice president with the Barton-Gillet Company and vice president with F.E. Worthington, Inc., both Baltimore-based communications firms, and also as head of his own consulting firm for two years. Still earlier, Roland was director of public relations and publications at Bucknell University, where his communication program was recognized with more than 20 national awards. He also has held leadership positions in communication with Carnegie Mellon University, Geisinger Medical Center, Coopers & Lybrand national headquarters, and Ketchum Public Relations. A graduate of Penn State, he began his career at KDKA-TV (Pittsburgh). Roland is an accredited member and a Fellow of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). He is a founding member of PRSA's Counselors to Higher Education section for college and university public relations officers, as well as a founding member of the College and University Public Relations Association of Pennsylvania (CUPRAP). In 2005, CUPRAP honored Roland with its Arthur V. Ciervo Award in recognition of "his career accomplishments in raising awareness of the role and needs of higher education at a national level." In D.C., Roland is a past president and was a member of the executive board of the Washington Higher Education Group, an organization of higher education public policy professionals. He also served on the council of the public affairs and communications leaders at the six higher education "presidential associations," the associations that represent U.S. higher education institutions with the federal government in establishing national higher education policy. Throughout his career, Roland has spoken and written on such topics as assessing, planning, and managing communications programs; institutional marketing; video production; writing for traditional and electronic/digital media; use of the web in public relations, and effective publication design. His articles on communication have appeared in numerous professional periodicals, and include major features for Currents, the monthly magazine of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

Santa J. Ono

Job Titles:

President, University of Cincinnati ( 10 )

Scott D. Miller

Job Titles:

President, Bethany College ( 19 )