By Isaiah Rosario, Staff Writer
Following the roles of writer, reporter, anchor, digital media project manager, associate and senior director of marketing at Mount Sinai Health System, Lisa Chase added a new role to her resume as executive director of marketing at Manhattan University on Sept. 10.
tan University, Lisa Chase.
MANHATTAN.EDU / COURTESY
A native of Wilmington, Delaware, she graduated from Villanova University and received both a bachelor of science and a bachelor of arts. Soon after, she received a MBA in finance from St. John’s University. Her role at MU primarily consists of overseeing a team of marketing, web development, social media, digital assets publications and editorial professionals.
“Everyone is so nice and warm and welcome,” Chase said about her first couple of weeks at MU. “I feel welcomed as an executive, as well as a Catholic, as a colleague and a friend. The campus is absolutely stunning, bucolic, and beautiful. I just feel at home here. It’s hard to explain. I’m also Catholic, so it’s meaningful to be interfacing with brothers and priests and knowing that there’s a spiritual foundation here.”
Chase’s variety of knowledge and expertise in marketing at Mount Sinai Health System opened the eyes of workers in the marketing and communication departments. Director of Editorial Services and Publications Kristen Cuppek spoke highly of Chase despite her only being in the office for a short period.
“It’s been really good,” Cuppek said. “She brings a wealth of knowledge from her career … she brings a lot of experience and resources and insights from [Mount Sinai Health System]. It’s been great to hear her perspective on some of our marketing initiatives and advertising programs and things that we’ll be looking forward to doing in the future.”
Chase mentioned a number of things that drew her to the university, which included the alumni connection, the location and Jaspers’ enthusiasm for athletics. While filming the video that was displayed at the Manhattan University Yankees game on Friday, Sept. 27, she stated that she loved the energy that came from the cheerleaders, dancers, baseball and softball teams.
A few items that have been jump-started under Chase are new branding and signage, a website overhaul and a new digital media producer.
The digital media producer’s role is to elevate MU’s social media channels with a plethora of videos, create Jaspers’ enthusiasm for academics and athletics and highlight clubs and activities on campus.
One way that Chase looks to enhance social media is to create day-in-the-life videos of students on campus. The first one will feature a player from the MU baseball program.
“I’d like every club and every activity to have a represented student to do a day in the life of,” Chase said. “The club picks them or the president picks them, or if the deans pick their favorite student that they would like to see highlighted on a reel. I’m looking forward to getting these out for all of the schools, all of the clubs, all of the activities. I think it’s really helpful for other potential students looking at Manhattan University to say ‘yes, that’s how I want my day to go’.”
With all these ideas, Chase wants to make sure that she also receives input from her staff. Assistant Director of Web Communications Melissa Battaglia stated that Chase is someone who truly values the opinions of other faculty in the department.
“She is someone who has said to all of us that she inputs all of our opinions because we have been at the University a little bit longer than her, and she will include us in any conversation that we want to be a part of,” Battaglia said. “She definitely takes all of our input, and then is taking that and leading a great charge to get the Manhattan University new name out there.”
Chase is also looking to spread the message that student success starts at MU. She believes that success is the baseline of the brand. A new way of showing students’ success will be showcased through a new honor society that will be announced officially in the coming weeks.
The honor society will be different in that it doesn’t have a GPA requirement, rather it’s meant for leaders. The society will welcome students who are outstanding in a specific aspect of academics or sports life.
An important step that Chase looks forward to taking during her time here is expanding into areas where MU does not have a well-known reputation, as she believes the university can hit the northeast market.
She is fully supportive of enrollment expanding into the Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania markets. Enrollment is also looking into expanding within California this year. Although MU may not have a marketing budget to put out commercials yet, Chase is looking to take steps forward into putting the brand of MU on a national stage.