To: The Trent University Community
From: Bonnie M. Patterson, President
Date: May 14, 1999
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Anthony Whittingham as Special Advisor to the President, who will oversee the new strategic investment in recruitment, marketing and communications approved by the Board of Governors in this year's budget.
In collaboration and consultation with members of the Trent community, Tony will provide overall strategic direction and coordination to raise the profile and position of Trent in the Ontario and Canadian university system and in our recruitment, marketing and communications activities that are part of this investment. The development of a coordinated and comprehensive communications, recruitment and marketing plan for use among all key university constituencies will be an important part of the role as will the identification, deployment and coordination of external resources necessary to assist the university in reputation management beyond our walls.
The interviewing team was particularly impressed by Tony's strategic planning and evaluation skill set, management and project implementation track record, and experience in private and not-for-profit sector communications and public relations both domestically and internationally.
Tony has considerable international communications consulting experience in numerous countries. He worked several years in Indonesia as Resident Advisor to the Ministry of Finance and later as Managing Director of SIMA Public Relations and Marketing Services, both based in Jakarta. In addition, Tony has served as Vice President of Financial Communications and Public Affairs for Edelman Public Relations Worldwide Canada in Toronto, and as Vice President and Manager of the Economic Development Public Affairs Group of Hill and Knowlton Inc. in New York City.
Adding more breadth and grass roots experience to his portfolio, he has had several years of senior consulting experience in corporate, government and NGO communications programs and in directing editorial services with Hill and Knowlton Canada Ltd., and Matrix Communications, both in Toronto. During the mid-nineties, he has been the principal of his own firms, International Writers Group and Whittingham International, engaged by such diverse clients as the Toronto Stock Exchange, the United Nations Development Programme, Japanese External Trade Organization, the Lontar Indonesian Arts Foundation, McKinsey & Co., the World Economic Development
Congress (Washington DC) and selected marketing and public relations agencies. Tony's client responsibilities
have involved market analysis, image and reputation management, project evaluation, crisis communications,
media relations, and development of strategies for visibility and profile-raising with targeted audiences in Canadian and international markets. In his community work, Tony has also served as Vice-Chairman of the Sierra Club of Eastern Canada and was chairman of the Woodshock international forestry initiative in Toronto during the late 1980's.
Tony began his career as a reporter and journalist, serving as Senior Writer and Business Editor with Maclean's Magazine and in various Staff Reporter/Editor roles with the Wall Street Journal, The Financial Post, The Whig-Standard and the Canadian Press. He has won two national business writing awards for his reporting, analysis and Special Report writing.
A native of Toronto, Tony holds an M.A. (Law) from Queens' College, Cambridge University, a Diplôme (Langue Francaise) from Université de Montpellier, and a Bachelor of Arts (History) from Trinity College at the University of Toronto. Drawing on this academic background, Tony takes a particular interest in this assignment and our cause as a liberal arts and sciences university.
Tony will join us effective May 17, and looks forward to managing a wide-ranging consultative process on our behalf. While he will begin immediately to meet and learn from members of our community who have been directly and indirectly involved in various dimensions of recruitment, marketing/promotion and communications, he is also eager to canvass the views of every Trent University stakeholder with an interest and view about our needs and directions. As such, should he be "slow" in reaching out to you, Tony encourages and invites interested individuals or groups to contact him directly! Tony will be located in the Riverside Offices of the Bata Library, and can be reached via phone at 748-1224 and via e-mail at twhittingham@trentu.ca.
I know you will join the Board and me in welcoming Tony to our community and will provide whatever help you can as he undertakes a leadership role in this important new initiative in building for the future of our community and our institution.
The contractual appointment of Anthony Whittingham follows a search process led by Board member Christopher Bunting, Chairman and CEO of Shandwick Canada, an international communications firm with offices throughout Canada and headquartered in Toronto. I would like to express my special thanks to Chris Bunting and members of the Advancement Committee of the Board -- particularly Ana Lopes, Rodger Wright, and board member Don Ferrier -- for taking particular interest in helping define the repositioning exercise needed, for their ongoing support in securing approval for this initiative, and for their respective involvements in defining the nature of leadership required and in securing the candidate.
