Alphabetized Staff Listing
Linda Baker
Executive Director, University Marketing and Communications
About Linda
- She has worked in higher education marketing for more than 25 years, with experience at a private liberal arts university, small medical school, rural community college and now a major research university.
- She is an award winning writer and editor and believes passionately in education in all its configurations.
- She empowers people to do their best, encourages them to question the status quo and believes a sense of humor is essential in the workplace.
Arlene Collins
Manager of Digital Assets and Publications
About Arlene
- She has worked for University Marketing and Communications for over 25 years.
- She prepares publications for the printer and coordinates specialized variable data mailings in conjunction with Mail Services.
Jennifer Donovan
Director of Public Relations
Her Beats
- Board of Control
- President
- Vice Presidents
- Research Centers
- School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science
- College of Sciences and Arts (dean's office)
About Jenn
- Her specialties include working with local, regional, national and special-interest news media.
- She is skilled at finding and developing University news and research stories and interesting the news media in covering them.
- She maintains the University Experts Guide.
- She is a former newspaper reporter and magazine writer.
- She enjoys reading detective stories and science fiction novels.
Wes Frahm
Director, Athletic Communications and Marketing
About Wes
- He oversees publicity and media relations for all 14 Huskies’ teams.
- His sports information specialties are football, men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball and tennis.
- A member of the College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA), he has won numerous publication awards from the organization.
Quentin Franke
Web Content Specialist and Developer
Links of Interest
Specialties
- He is the latest addition to the web group.
- He works with the CMS and various web duties.
- He enjoys snowboarding, mountain biking, and golf.
James Frey
Marketing Technology Support Specialist
John Gagnon
Promotional Writer
His Beats
- School of Technology/Dean’s Office
- Air Force/ROTC
- Army/ROTC
- Biomedical Engineering
- Cognitive and Learning Sciences
- Social Sciences
- Advancement
- Career Center
- Campus Facilities
- Educational Opportunity
- Technology and Economic Development
- MUB and Dining/Tech Express
- Human Resources
- Campus Store and University Images
About John
- He edits Tech Today, Michigan Tech's daily employee newsletter and writes and edits numerous publications for the University.
- His background is rooted in both journalism and public relations and he has been at Michigan Tech since 1998.
- John wrote Hard Maple, Hard Work, an account of Upper Michigan’s hard maple forests.
Marcia Goodrich
Senior Writer
Links of Interest
Her Beats
- College of Engineering/Dean’s Office
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil/Environmental Engineering
- Computer Science
- Electrical Engineering
- ME-EM
- Math
- Physics
- Library
- Dean of Students
- Public Safety
- Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development
- Accounting
- Budget Office
- Purchasing
- Internal Audit
- Biological Sciences
- Chemistry
About Marcia
- Her responsibilities include editing the Research and Michigan Tech magazines, writing and distributing news releases, working with local media, and tracking Michigan Tech's appearances in various publications.
Alexander Hughes
Web Programmer
About Alexander
- He is a Michigan Tech Alumnus from Hancock.
- He is the programming and technical lead for the University’s content management system (CMS).
- He assists in CMS training and technical user support.
- He is an avid golfer, enjoys hockey and curling, watches many movies, and would like to visit Finland someday.
Jackie Johnson
Graphic Designer
906-487-3507
jabjohns@mtu.edu
jabjohns@mtu.edu
Links of Interest
About Jackie
- She is experienced in collateral design ranging from brochures, postcards, and posters to identity, logo design, and merchandise.
- She enjoys working with clients on projects from the conception of ideas to completion, overseeing them throughout the process.
Karina Jousma
Web Editor
Links of Interest
About Karina
- She develops, organizes, and structures copy for the Michigan Tech website in conjunction with University clients.
- She is skilled in all phases of writing and editing, from concept development to copyediting.
- She serves as the gatekeeper for style and grammar on the Michigan Tech website.
- She is a Michigan Tech alumna from the Western Upper Peninsula.
Ian Marks
Assistant Director, Athletic Communications and Marketing
About Ian
- His sports information specialties are hockey, soccer, Nordic skiing, track and field, and cross country.
- His background is based in a combination of sports information and print journalism.
Justin Plichta
Video Reporter/Producer
About Justin
- He is responsible for all UMC-produced videos, DVDs, and web-based media clips.
- He enjoys the other artistic aspects of his job as well, including writing and musical arrangement.
- When he’s not at work, Justin loves to trek out and explore the natural world.
Clare Rosen
Senior Creative Designer
About Clare
- She is experienced in publication/print collateral design and brand identity.
- She is responsible for the layout and design of the Michigan Tech Magazine and Research magazine.
Scott Shannon
Web Developer/Designer
Links of Interest
About Scott
- He is a Michigan Tech Alumnus.
- His background in computer science enhances his web development skills and abilities in web design.
- He is a technical lead for the University’s content management system.
- He creates and maintains University web pages, styles, scripts, and specialty websites.
- He examines web technologies in order to enhance user online experiences using the latest web standards.
Kara Sokol
Integrated Marketing Specialist
Links of Interest
Her Beats
- Enrollment Services
- Admissions
- Financial Aid
- Records and Registration
- IPS
- Housing/Residence Life/Daniell Heights
- Student Life
- Counseling Services
About Kara
- She is the lead writer and project manager for Admissions, the Center for Pre-College Outreach, and Student Affairs.
- Her favorite part of her job is getting to work with students; she advises the Michigan Tech Lode and works closely with Keweenaw Pride.
- She adores fresh, snappy nonfiction and spends her spare time writing and trolling the web for cool books and blogs.
- She believes that the world would be a better place if everyone embraced the serial comma.
"Simple design, intense content."
—Edward R. Tufte
—Edward R. Tufte
Gail Sweeting
Content Manager
Links of Interest
About Gail
- She helps departments prepare their website copy for migration to the University’s content management system.
- She trains department web liaisons to maintain their websites in CMS and guides them in establishing a schedule for updating their sites.
- She is an original member of the UMC web team.
Bill Tembreull
Creative Director
About Bill
- He has worked in design and publications at Michigan Tech for 35 years.
- His work has earned numerous national awards.
- He oversees the design of most University publications, including brochures, posters, magazines, newsletters, and more.
- Prepares bids for pricing publications.
Rodney Thompson
Manager, Printing and Mail Services
Brandy Tichonoff
Director of New Media
Links of Interest
About Brandy
- She has a decade of design experience.
- Her multimedia designs have won numerous industry awards.
- Her specialty is enterprise-scale website design.
- She is an incurable video game junkie.
Crystal Verran
Assistant Director
Links of Interest
About Crystal
- She is the first person to contact when you are interested in working with UMC on a project.
- She loves to brainstorm new ideas for publications with clients and enjoys the variety of projects that come through UMC.
- Crystal is a great source when questions arise regarding University Identity Standards.
- A self-described “design nerd,” she finds herself picking up publications from a variety of different places (to read and critique).
"Just Go with It!"
Joel C. Vertin
Web Marketing and Content Specialist
About Joel
- He has helped migrate over three dozen websites into Michigan Tech's content management system (CMS).
- He provides CMS customer support and training.
- He oversees Michigan Tech's Facebook page.
- He is a Michigan Tech alumnus from Laurium.
- His favorite sports include golf, basketball, and softball.
- He enjoys attending Michigan Tech sports events.
Dennis Walikainen
Senior Editor
Links of Interest
His Beats
- Business
- Graduate School
- Geology/Mining
- Mine Safety
- Engineering Fundamentals
- Exercise Science
- Humanities
- Visual and Performing Arts
- Alumni Relations
- Occupational Safety
- Portage Lake Golf Course
- Mont Ripley
- The Rozsa Center
- Institutional Analysis
- SAS
- Experimental Computation
- SDC
- Central Ticket Office
- Community Programs
- Hockey Development
- Sports/Recreation
- Educational Technology Services
About Dennis
- He oversees the University's Athletic Communications and Marketing efforts.
- He maintains the University’s written history and keeps the Editorial Guide up to date.
- Online, Dennis writes the TechAlum newsletter.
- He manages the "hometowners": student news releases.
- He contributes news stories to Tech Today, the news site, and the news media.
- Off campus he enjoys golf, running, and guts Frisbee.