University Marketing and Communications Staff
Administration
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.
Carol Argentati
Administrative Assistant for Advancement
Kara Sokol
Director of Integrated Marketing
Links of Interest
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.
Brandy Tichonoff
Director of New Media and Creative Strategy
Links of Interest
About Brandy
- She has over a decade of design experience.
- Her multimedia designs have won numerous industry awards and been published in Communication Arts and HOW Design.
- Her specialty is enterprise-scale website design.
- She is an incurable video game junkie.
Crystal Verran
Director of Publications
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).
Brandy Tichonoff
Director of New Media and Creative Strategy
Links of Interest
About Brandy
- She has over a decade of design experience.
- Her multimedia designs have won numerous industry awards and been published in Communication Arts and HOW Design.
- Her specialty is enterprise-scale website design.
- She is an incurable video game junkie.
Bill Tembreull
Lead Designer and Creative Specialist
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.
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.
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.
Crystal Verran
Director of Publications
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).
Rodney Thompson
Manager, Printing and Mail Services
Photo Services
Crystal Verran
Director of Publications
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).
Rodney Thompson
Manager, Printing and Mail Services
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.
Videographers
Justin Plichta
Video Reporter/Producer
Links of Interest
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.
Web Group
"Simple design, intense content."
—Edward R. Tufte
—Edward R. Tufte
Gail Sweeting
Web 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.
Quentin Franke
Web Content Specialist and Developer
Links of Interest
About Quentin
- 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.
Alexander J 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 curling, watches many many movies, and would like to visit Finland someday.
Karina Jousma
Web Editor
Her Beats
- Enrollment/Admissions
- Housing & Residential Life
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.
Danny Messinger
Web Editor
Research Web Maintenance
Links of Interest
His Beats
- College of Sciences and Arts (VPA, Humanities, Social Sciences)
- Enrollment/Admissions
- Housing and Residential Life
- Youth Programs/K–12 Outreach
- Diversity
- Career Services
About Danny
- He is a Michigan Tech Alumnus.
- He works with both Research and University Marketing and Communications to develop new web content and maintain existing content.
- He enjoys skiing—both downhill and cross-country—and roller coasters.
Scott Shannon
Web Developer
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.
"Just Go with It!"
Joel C. Vertin
Web Maintenance Manager
Links of Interest
About Joel
- He has helped migrate many websites into Michigan Tech's content management system (CMS).
- He has experience in CMS project management, customer support, and user training.
- He assists in managing Michigan Tech's social media presence.
- He is a Michigan Tech alumnus from Laurium.
- His favorite sports include golf, basketball, and softball. He enjoys attending Michigan Tech sports events.
Writers
Jennifer Donovan
Director of Public Relations
Her Beats
- Research Centers & Institutes (other than KRC)
- School of Forest Resources & Environmental Science
- Executive Team/Board of Control
- International Programs
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.
Dennis Walikainen
Senior Editor
Links of Interest
His Beats
- Graduate School
- Geological & Mining Engineering & Sciences
- School of Business and Economics/Entrepreneurship
- School of Technology
- Alumni
- Athletics liaison
About Dennis
- 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 and tracks Michigan Tech's appearances in various publications.
- He contributes news stories to Tech Today, the news site, and the news media.
- Off campus he enjoys golf, running, and guts Frisbee.
Marcia Goodrich
Magazine Editor
Links of Interest
Her Beats
- College of Engineering
- Keweenaw Research Center
- College of Sciences & Arts (Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science)
About Marcia
- Her responsibilities include editing the Research and Michigan Tech magazines, writing and distributing news releases, and working with local media.
Karina Jousma
Web Editor
Her Beats
- Enrollment/Admissions
- Housing & Residential Life
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.
Danny Messinger
Web Editor
Research Web Maintenance
Links of Interest
His Beats
- College of Sciences and Arts (VPA, Humanities, Social Sciences)
- Enrollment/Admissions
- Housing and Residential Life
- Youth Programs/K–12 Outreach
- Diversity
- Career Services
About Danny
- He is a Michigan Tech Alumnus.
- He works with both Research and University Marketing and Communications to develop new web content and maintain existing content.
- He enjoys skiing—both downhill and cross-country—and roller coasters.
