Directory

Biography

Rachel Putman is the director of Strategic Communications at UAFS where she oversees university public and media relations, publications, internal, external, and crisis communications, and digital media strategy with a team of professional and student staff. As the university’s primary media contact, she handles press inquiries, manages relationships with local journalists, and oversees the university’s primary social media channels, policy, and overall strategy. Since 2023 she has also taught courses on brand, voice, and values to hundreds of university social media managers and their students through the Student Social Media Academy.

Rachel also directs the creation of three annual print publications—The Bell Tower, the Chancellor's Report, and the Advancement Report. Supporting the university's fundraising operation, she oversees the creative direction of the comprehensive campaign and assists development officers with high-stakes proposal and grant writing.

She manages the university's Freedom of Information Act compliance, working closely with UA System general counsel and the Attorney General's office. On the university’s Emergency Management Team, Rachel serves as the public information officer and holds certifications in NIMS, ICS, PIO, Higher Education, Mass Casualties, Strategic Communication, and Social Media Communication from the FEMA Emergency Management Institute.

Before joining UAFS, Rachel was a decorated journalist whose reporting was published across the globe and in major publications including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press Worldwide, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The National Weather Channel, ESPN, and The Los Angeles Times, earning multiple press association awards.

She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with honors and distinction (2008) and served as an editor of The Daily Tar Heel, one of the most decorated college newspapers in the country.