University of Michigan

Richie C. Hunter, a communications leader with more than 25 years of experience in higher education, health care, and business, has been appointed as the University of Michigan’s next vice president for communications, effective May 15. 

As the vice president for communications, Hunter will report to the president and serve as an executive officer of the university. She will act as the university’s chief communications officer with responsibility for comprehensive oversight of the communications function across U-M and will serve as the president’s key communications adviser. 

She also will manage the Office of the Vice President for Communications, which includes executive and presidential communications, as well as Public Affairs, The University Record, Michigan News, Michigan Creative, Social Media and Public Engagement, the Freedom of Information Act Office, and Michigan Radio.

Hunter most recently served as vice president for communications at the University of Oregon. From 2016 to 2021, she held the top communications role at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the nation’s oldest technological university, and led the rebranding effort for the university titled “Why Not Change the World?” From 2013-2016, Hunter was the vice chancellor and vice president for university marketing, communication and media relations for the four-campus University of Houston System, including the University of Houston, the system’s tier-one research institution and the second-most diverse university in the nation. 

Prior to her career in higher education, Hunter served for more than a decade in various executive-level marketing and communication roles in the health care industry. 

Hunter holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of Southern California and a Master of Science degree in business administration from Lamar University.

Elizabeth Neustaedter and Jack Gorman led this search with Sandeep Kaur.