Author: Alfredo Nevarez, Jr
Dear CU faculty and staff:
I am pleased today to announce the appointment of Frances Draper to the post of
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Relations, effective Oct. 1, 2011.
In this capacity, Frances will coordinate all external and internal
communications, branding, alumni activities, government and business relations,
reputation management and strategic relationship development for the CU-Boulder
campus. As vice chancellor, she will report to CU-Boulder's Senior Vice
Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer, Ric Porreca.
I believe this is an important strategic move for our campus. It will strongly
coordinate our external and internal communication efforts, creating more
consistency and potency in our messages. It will continue the hard work we have
done to implement our brand and position the university locally and nationally.
It will coordinate the messages and relationships that advance the
university's mission. It will strengthen the resources we can offer our
faculty, staff and students in their communication and their relationships with
the greater community. I believe there has never been a more vital time for us
to streamline and elevate these efforts.
Frances brings a dynamic background and a wealth of experience to this
important post. She joined us on Feb. 14, 2011 as associate vice chancellor for
strategic relations. Prior to joining the university, she served since 2006 as
executive director of the Boulder Economic Council. She worked for General
Electric in Boulder and Westminster as a vice president in the business
development (2004-05) and risk management (1998-2003) divisions, as well as
director of treasury and financial services (1995-97). She also spent 12 years
(1982-94) at First Interstate Bank in Denver in marketing, strategic planning
and financial analyst positions. From 1978-80, she served on the legislative
staff of Harrison Schmidt, the junior U.S. senator from New Mexico.
Frances holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Stanford
University (1978) and an MBA (1982) with an emphasis in marketing from the
University of California, Berkeley. She has served on numerous local boards,
including Boulder Rotary and the Boulder Innovation Center previously, and
currently serves on the boards of CO-LABS Inc., the Deming Center for
Entrepreneurship within the Leeds School of Business at CU-Boulder, Naturally
Boulder and "I Have a Dream" of Boulder County.
Please join me in welcoming Frances Draper to her new post as Vice Chancellor
for Strategic Relations.
