1/17/2019
Kellen Stepler | Staff Writer
New hometown, new college, same job.
That’s what life is like for Gabriel Welsch, the new vice president for marketing and communications at Duquesne University. Welsch will start his new position on March 18.
Welsch is coming to Pittsburgh from Juniata College, where he was vice president for strategic communications and marketing a position he had held since June 2017. He began his career at Juniata in 2007 as the assistant vice president for marketing and was promoted to vice president of advancement and marketing in 2009.
Additionally, he also worked at Penn State University, where he was assistant to the dean for advancement and manager of publications and public relations for Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts.
According to the Juniata College website, Welsch’s responsibilities at Juniata were to oversee operations in marketing, digital and emerging media, public relations, senior communications and brand management.
Welsch has goals he hopes to accomplish at Duquesne, citing the university’s 2018-2023 Strategic Plan.
“I aim to have more people know not what my plan will be, and with the communications and marketing team, I aim to have more people know not just Duquesne’s name but what it stands for in terms of learning opportunities, community commitment and positive impact,” Welsch said.
His previous experience at Juniata and Penn State led him to take this position at Duquesne.
“The combination of the location, momentum and people made it easy to say yes,” Welsch said of his new job.
Additionally, Welsch had a decorated resume before beginning his job at Duquesne. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1993 and then received his Master of Fine Arts in English in 1998 from Penn State University.
In 2011, he received a certificate from the Institute of Educational Management at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.
Welsch will be the first person to enter this role at Duquesne, as it is newly created.
“This new, key vice presidential position was created in response to the dynamic growth taking place at Duquesne and the importance of marketing and communications in all forms in ensuring the continued growth of the university,” President Ken Gormley said in an earlier press release.
Welsch hopes to leave his mark for future VPs of marketing and communication by achieving and exceeding their goals.
“I will feel I have done well if my colleagues and I achieve and exceed our goals, grow stronger in our skills, knowledge and creativity, and have positioned whomever follows us for the next level of success in alignment with the University’s vision,” Welsch said.
