Jennifer Fellinger has been appointed to the newly created position of vice president for public affairs and marketing at Hope College.
She comes to Hope with a variety of experiences in marketing and communications in education, serving most recently as vice president for marketing and communication at Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Wash., for the past three years. She will begin her time at Hope in early July.
“We conducted a nationwide search and evaluated many highly qualified candidates for this position,” said Dr. John C. Knapp, president of Hope College. “Jennifer Fellinger was clearly the best fit for Hope College’s mission and priorities. I am confident her leadership will help the college develop an even stronger national and international reputation.”
As vice president, Fellinger will lead the college’s newly established Division of Public Affairs and Marketing. The division blends programs and initiatives that have been functioning independently of one another, including the college’s Office of Public and Community Relations, Events and Conferences Office, Integrated Marketing Team, admissions materials, video production, social networking and more, to enable Hope to more fully benefit from their efforts.
Fellinger noted that she looks forward to partnering with others at Hope to build the college’s visibility by sharing the many success stories of students, alumni, faculty and staff.
“What makes Hope College distinctive is its long-standing tradition of academic excellence within a Christ-centered educational environment,” she said. “This is a campus community that actively explores and embraces what it means to be an institution of Christian higher education in, and for, the 21st century. This is a place where individuals dwell and grow together in a vibrant intellectual culture that values scholarship, collaboration and service. With these strengths, Hope College is uniquely positioned to gain global recognition.”
“I am deeply humbled by the warm and enthusiastic welcome I’ve received from members of the Hope community,” she added. “Their passion for the school’s mission is inspiring, as is their commitment to liberal arts education.”
Fellinger’s responsibilities at Saint Martin’s University include directing all university marketing and communication initiatives. She led the development of the university’s Office of Marketing and Communication, which integrates components that, as at Hope, had previously been decentralized.
In addition to serving as vice president at Saint Martin’s since February 2011, she previously was the university’s director of communications. Her other professional experiences include serving as director of communications for the Association of Washington School Principals; as assistant director of communications for the Washington State School Directors’ Association; as an editor with F+W Publications in Cincinnati, Ohio; and as a curatorial assistant in the Department of Prints, Drawings and Photographs with the Cincinnati Art Museum.
Fellinger graduated from Xavier University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1996 and completed a Master of Arts degree in the history of art at The Ohio State University in 2002. Following her graduate studies, she became the first American to receive the international Michael Bromberg Fellowship to conduct independent research in the British Museum’s Department of Prints and Drawings.
Her community involvement includes serving as a member of the board of the Hands On Children’s Museum in Olympia, Wash. In August 2013, she was named one of the South Sound, Wash., region’s “40 Under Forty” by “The Business Examiner.”
Fellinger and her husband, Steven Herppich, have Midwest roots, growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and suburban Detroit respectively. They have two sons, Quinton (four) and Kilian (two).