Massa Named VP for Communications

Robert J. Massa, former vice president for enrollment and college relations at Dickinson College, has been named vice president for communications. The first person to serve in the newly created position, he will lead a new administrative division that includes public relations, communications, and marketing. He starts Aug. 1.

Glenn Airgood, director of the Office of Public Information and executive editor of Lafayette Alumni News magazine, retired after serving 15 years as chief public relations, communications, and marketing officer.

A nationally recognized authority on enrollment management, Massa served as vice president at Dickinson from 1999 to 2009, overseeing media relations; print and electronic communications, design, and publications; admissions; financial aid; athletics; institutional research; the career center; alumni relations; and parent relations.

Under his leadership, Dickinson’s national reputation increased significantly. His development and implementation of a coordinated plan to influence brand identification and communicate the college’s identity to prospective students, alumni, and the public helped drive major advances in applications for admission (an increase of 82 percent) and in the academic quality of the first-year class (an improvement of 100 points in the mean SAT score). The proportion of minority students at Dickinson rose to 15 percent from five percent, while the ratio of international students increased to six percent from one percent.

Dickinson’s visibility in the media also advanced dramatically. Massa himself has frequently provided expert commentary on higher education issues in the national media.

“In this economic environment, parents and students are increasingly concerned about value, benefits, and outcomes, and potential donors to the College have competing demands for their time and resources. As a result, this is a particularly exciting time to communicate and promote the benefits of a Lafayette education and to strengthen its position as a leader in undergraduate education,” Massa said. “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve Lafayette and look forward to focusing my efforts toward advancing an institution to which I am committed deeply.”

President Daniel H. Weiss said, “Bob Massa’s understanding of small private colleges and extensive experience in college communications, enrollment management, and other key administrative areas position him uniquely well to provide effective and inspiring leadership at a time when it is more important than ever to communicate the College’s distinctive strengths to our publics.”

Massa brings 35 years of experience in higher education, including 10 years as dean of enrollment at Johns Hopkins. He holds master’s and doctoral degrees in higher education from Columbia University’s Teachers College. As an undergraduate, he majored in psychology at the University of Rochester, where he also earned an M.Ed.

Massa’s son, Daniel Massa, is a 2008 Lafayette graduate.