Chancellor J. Michael Haynie today announced the appointment of Jeff Stoecker to senior vice president, chief of staff to the chancellor and chief communications and marketing officer. His appointment, effective July 1, was approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees. Stoecker most recently served as senior vice president and chief communications officer.

In his expanded role, Stoecker will serve as the chancellor’s chief of staff, working at the center of the University’s executive leadership, while overseeing a unified Division of Communications and Marketing, bringing together two functions that are critical to Syracuse’s ability to tell its story effectively. It is a structure built for this moment in higher education.

“The chief of staff role requires someone with sound judgment, deep institutional knowledge and the kind of character that holds up under pressure. In more than six years at Syracuse, Jeff has demonstrated all of that,” says Chancellor Haynie. “Reuniting communications and marketing under a single, trusted leader is the right move for this University at this moment. Enrollment, fundraising, reputation—these are not separate conversations. They require a coordinated voice and a clear strategy. Jeff is the right person to lead it.”

The reunification of the communications and marketing divisions reflects a deliberate effort to ensure those functions operate as a single, coordinated team in direct service of the University’s highest strategic priorities.

“I’ve spent my career at the intersection of storytelling and strategy, and I can’t think of a better place to put that to work than here,” says Stoecker. “Serving as chief of staff means making sure this University’s leadership is focused, aligned and moving in the same direction. Bringing communications and marketing together is a big part of how we do that, telling Syracuse’s story with one clear, focused voice. I’m excited about what this team is going to accomplish.”

Stoecker has been a central figure on Syracuse University’s executive leadership team, guiding high-impact decisions on the institution’s communications operations and strategic vision. He played an especially instrumental role during the University’s recent leadership transition. In his unified role, he will lead a team of communications and marketing professionals across the institution, with a focus on elevating the University’s visibility, strengthening its brand and driving outcomes in enrollment and philanthropic support.

Stoecker succeeds Candace Campbell Jackson as chief of staff, a role she has served in for 11 years. Stoecker also assumes the marketing portfolio following the departure of Dara Royer, who served as the University’s chief marketing officer for nine years.

Stoecker brings to his expanded role a career spanning journalism, public relations and higher education communications. Before joining Syracuse University, he served as vice president at FleishmanHillard, a global public relations and strategic marketing agency that specializes in brand marketing, corporate communication, crisis management and public affairs services. There he provided strategic counsel and media relations support to clients in the education, technology, healthcare and consumer sectors, including Harvard University, Babson College and Massachusetts General Hospital. His nearly 13 years as a broadcast journalist earned him two Emmy Awards, several AP Awards and a Peabody Award as part of the team recognized for coverage of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Stoecker grew up in Cazenovia, New York, and is a graduate of Le Moyne College.