For our third installment in the Higher Ed Superheroes series, we feature Rebecca Larson, Director of Web Communications at Wheaton College.
Rebecca Larson
Director of Web Communications
Wheaton College
Get to know Rebecca: Rebecca Larson graduated from Wheaton College with a degree in English and Sociology, and after more than a decade in the publishing field, came back to Wheaton in 2013 as director of web communications where she manages the College’s website and social media. Holy web content management systems, Batman! That job’s too big to do alone, so she works with a team of digital superheroes who handle web development, CMS user training, photography and video (along with other duties as assigned). Together, with the help of mStoner, this team launched an award-winning new website in the fall of 2017, and they continue to enhance Wheaton’s website and social media to meet the evolving expectations of today’s prospective college students.
When she’s not fighting for truth, justice and the W3C way, Rebecca is a wife and a mom who enjoys reading, biking, and a good madlib.
What was the most impactful project you’ve been associated with at your institution and what was your involvement? Our website redesign, which launched in September 2017 had the biggest institutional impact thus far. As director of the web communications team, I was the project lead and partnered with our web developer, web training specialist, several fantastic student workers, and our colleagues in Academic and Institutional Technology to execute the project. Together, moving at top speed over a period of two years, we:
- Redesigned our IA (with Nonlinear Creations).
- Developed and shopped two extensive RFPs for CMS and design.
- Selected a new CMS vendor (TerminalFour).
- Selected a design partner (mStoner).
- Worked with TerminalFour to migrate content from old CMS to new CMS.
- Launched the new site (on time and on budget).
- Trained over 100 campus users.
- Migrated our outdated intranet into TerminalFour.
Coolest pinch yourself moment at work? I remember the exact moment, in fact, on Wednesday, September 6, 2017. We launched our new site at 5:30 am so we could get in front of any potential problems before many users were online. I was on Skype at home in my living room with several Wheaton folks who “flipped the switch” on the URL to make the new site live. It was exhilarating (and terrifying) to refresh my browser and see the results of two years’ work instantly in front of the world!
What advice do you have for senior leaders about running a successful Marketing department?
- Hire top quality people, and then trust and empower them to do their jobs well.
- Encourage your team to try new ideas, even if there’s no proof they’ll be successful.
- Give your team permission to fail sometimes. Some new ideas won’t fly. That’s okay.
- Give your team permission to stop doing things. You can’t do everything. So as you add new initiatives, ask what you should stop doing because it is no longer a strategic use of your time.
- Have fun. Some of the best ideas are born out of jokes, pizza lunches and off-the-cuff convos.
- There are a million things we could be doing. But what should we be doing? Remember to tie your work back to your institutional goals so you know where to focus your energy. Determine how you will measure success for each initiative, and follow up to evaluate whether you’ve met your goals.
- Be sure to tell your story to internal stakeholders to show your value to the organization.
What do you believe are the most critical skills needed as a leader in higher ed?
- Listening: It’s important to learn how to listen through the words to begin to understand the questions, fears, goals and priorities that are driving people.
- Humble collaboration: We will not always agree, but success requires looking for ways to find common purpose with your colleagues and moving ahead together.
- Strategic thinking: Anyone can share information about themselves with the world. But figuring out the right stories to tell to the right audience that will lead them to take action requires significant strategic thinking and planning skills.
- Forward thinking: By nature the academy can be a slow-moving place, but meeting the needs of our students demands a future-oriented mindset that’s open to doing things differently. Not change for the sake of change, but change that responds to–and even gets out ahead of–the expectations of today’s students.
What does your day-to-day look like as Director of Web Communications at Wheaton College? I spend a lot of time in meetings with folks from all across campus, which is something I enjoy about my job. Most days involve quite a bit of screen time. I try to check analytics a few times a week to keep tabs on what is happening on the web and social. I check in with my direct reports and supervisor on a weekly basis. Some weeks are crazy with meetings and campus events, while others are quiet and allow for more focused thinking, planning and hands-on web work. I usually have a good laugh with a colleague at some point every day – which is a good way to stay sane!
What is most rewarding about your job; what makes it all worthwhile? I am deeply committed to the mission of Wheaton College, which is to “serve Jesus Christ and advance His Kingdom through excellence in liberal arts and graduate programs that educate the whole person to build the church and benefit society worldwide.” It is a privilege to spend my time every day working to support an organization that is thoroughly committed to preparing students to go out into the world and make an impact for God’s kingdom in the world. As an alumna, I also appreciate the opportunity to give back to this school which has had such a formative role in shaping me intellectually and spiritually. I’m also grateful to work on a team with such high caliber colleagues. The people at Wheaton are some of the best you’ll find anywhere, and it’s my joy to serve alongside them.
Podcast recommendations? I listen to a lot of NPR including: Fresh Air; Hidden Brain; Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me; and This American Life. I also like Phil Vischer and Skye Jethani’s podcast, The Holy Post, which offers thoughtful Christian commentary on culture – along with a good dose of snarky humor.
Who is one person that influenced your career? It’s hard to narrow down one person, but I have had the privilege of reporting to four different women (Sally Sampson Craft, Anne Gerth, Julie Busch and Kimberly Medaglia) who have significantly shaped my identity as a woman in leadership and technology over the course of my career.
They taught me practical things, like how to:
- Read and manage a budget.
- Conduct an interview well.
- Deal gracefully with difficult employees.
- Patiently shepherd a new idea through a slow-moving organization.
- Navigate within an org chart.
- Code a website.
They also taught me valuable leadership lessons about the importance of:
- Taking initiative.
- Anticipating the needs of those you report to.
- Supporting and empowering those who report to you.
- When to speak out and when to hold your tongue.
- What it looks like to “lean in” at the metaphorical table.
I will always be grateful to each of them for the ways they mentored, encouraged and empowered me to step into positions of leadership.
What is something you learned last week? I attended an Emerging Technologies in Education conference on campus last week in which I learned about new ways schools are using virtual reality technology both as a teaching tool as well as a recruitment tool. I’m interested to think more about how we can apply this technology at Wheaton.
When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time? I don’t often have 30 minutes of free time at work, but if I do I catch up on all the articles and webinars I haven’t had time to digest yet. In my free time at home, I enjoy reading, binging a show on Netflix, or hanging out with my family.