Amanda K. Thatcher named director of new Medical School Office of Communication

Amanda K. Thatcher has been appointed director of the new Office of Communication in the Medical School. Thatcher, who will continue in her role as academic chief of staff for the Medical School, will report to Rose Glenn, chief communication and marketing officer for Michigan Medicine, in her new role and serve on Glenn’s executive team.

Thatcher has extensive communication expertise and experience. She joined the University of Michigan in 2011, serving first as a communications consultant for the North Campus Research Complex and then as the manager of communications, clinical education and support for the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Prior to working at the U-M, she served as director of communications for the Bishoff Financial Group in Columbus, Ohio, and then as a communications program manager in the Department of Marketing and Strategic Communications at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. She received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Michigan State University and her master’s degree in organizational leadership from Lewis University. 

Thatcher and Glenn will work together to develop an organizational structure and funding model for communications that have the following goals:

• Develop a comprehensive and integrated strategy, structure and process for meeting the overall communication needs of Medical School and its departments, institutes and centers;
• Enable communication professionals to flourish by better leveraging talent and through enabling strong professional development and peer networking; 
• Improve overall brand strength and strategies, while better aligning marketing and communication disciplines within Michigan Medicine; and
• Improve resource utilization and cost efficiencies in support of the Michigan Medicine economic recovery plan.