Marshall University President Stephen J. Kopp today announced that two university administrators have assumed new roles.
Senior Vice President for Operations Brandi Jacobs-Jones has been promoted and assumed additional responsibilities as the chief of staff/liaison to the Marshall University Board of Governors, reporting directly to the president. In this new capacity, Jacobs-Jones will continue to serve as senior vice president for operations, while also providing executive-level support to the president and working with the board.
Ginny Painter, communications director for the Marshall University Research Corporation (MURC) since 2009, has been promoted and named interim senior vice president for communications and marketing. In her new position, Painter will have responsibility for the university’s overall communications, media and public relations, research-based messaging, marketing and branding activities. She will continue to provide support for key MURC communications initiatives.
Jacob-Jones joined Marshall earlier this year. Prior to that, she served three Huntington mayors as the city’s director of administration and finance. She also has served the city as acting public works director. She worked as the outreach coordinator/development officer for Ebenezer Medical Outreach Inc. in Huntington, and from 2001 to 2003, she was a housing and urban development fellow at Eastern Kentucky University.
“I am quite proud to announce the promotions of these two dynamic individuals to their respective senior leadership positions at Marshall University,” Kopp said. “They both bring considerable experience, expertise and savvy to their new roles. I look forward to their many leadership contributions and the many fine achievements they will realize on behalf of advancing our university.”
“During her brief time with us, Brandi has distinguished herself as a highly motivated and dedicated person of remarkable capacity. I am confident she will do an outstanding job in her new role as chief of staff, while continuing to perform well in her relatively new role as senior vice president for operations.
“I have had the privilege of working closely with Ginny on various important budget and marketing initiatives and have been impressed by her resourcefulness, dedication and commitment to excellence. She is also a very driven and focused person who will provide strong leadership and vision for the University’s strategic and integrated marketing, public relations and communications functions.”
Jacobs-Jones was named to the West Virginia State Journal “Generation Next 40 Under 40” in 2012. The West Virginia Women’s Commission recognized her in 2010 with the Lena Lowe Yost Award for Women in Public Service, and in 2009, she received the U.S. Department of Justice Award for Public Service. In 2005, she received the Neighborhood Institute Community Service Award and was named the Mountain State Bar Association Citizen of the Year.
She is a member of the boards of directors of the Huntington Urban Renewal Authority, Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Tri-State and the Child Development Academy at Marshall University.
Jacobs-Jones has a master’s degree in public administration from Eastern Kentucky University and a regents bachelor of arts degree from Marshall.
Painter has more than 25 years’ experience in higher education, nonprofit and government communications and administration, including at the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and the University of Charleston. She also has served as communications director and deputy commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History and in communications roles for the state affiliate of the American Lung Association and Black Diamond Girl Scout Council.
She is on the boards of directors of the West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust and TechConnect West Virginia.
In 2001, the West Virginia chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) recognized Painter with its prestigious Practitioner of the Year award, and she has received the organization’s Chapter Service Award twice. She was honored with the Distinguished West Virginian Award in 2009 for her work on the new West Virginia State Museum.
She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism/public relations from Marshall University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Charleston.
