Kathy R. Pharr has been named the University of Georgia’s vice president for marketing and communications, UGA President Jere W. Morehead announced Friday.
Pharr, chief of staff in the Office of the President, has served as interim vice president for marketing and communications since July 1. With her appointment, Pharr will continue the responsibilities of both Cabinet-level posts on a permanent basis.
“Dr. Pharr is an exceptional administrator with vast experience at the University of Georgia,” said Morehead. “Since July, during a period of great challenge for our institution, Dr. Pharr has provided outstanding leadership over our central marketing and communications area, while remaining a strong manager and trusted advisor in the Office of the President. I know that her dedicated service will continue, and I look forward to all that she and her teams will accomplish in the years ahead.”
As vice president, Pharr will lead the Division of Marketing and Communications, the University of Georgia’s central communications and marketing unit. The division encompasses media communications, strategic marketing, creative services, the UGA Visitors Center, WUGA-FM, and business support functions.
“I am honored and humbled that President Morehead has entrusted me to serve in this role on a permanent basis,” said Pharr. “As a Triple Dawg and a longtime staff member, the University of Georgia is a very special place to me. UGA’s mission is important and impactful, and I am excited about the opportunity to tell our great story across the nation and around the world.”
After a six-year stint in broadcast journalism, Pharr began her career at UGA in 1993 as the director of communications and public relations in the School of Law. Since that time, she has fulfilled a variety of key administrative assignments, including assistant to the president, assistant vice president for finance and administration and director of Health Sciences Campus administration, and most recently as chief of staff and associate vice president for institutional affairs. As vice president, Pharr succeeds Karri Hobson-Pape, who departed UGA on June 30 to lead a national nonprofit devoted to organ donation and transplantation services.
Pharr holds three degrees from the University of Georgia. She earned her bachelor’s in journalism, as a first honor graduate, from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. She earned her master’s in public administration from the School of Public and International Affairs and her doctorate in higher education administration from the Institute of Higher Education.
Pharr also announced that Greg Trevor will assume the role of associate vice president for marketing and communications, overseeing day-to-day operations of the division, including integrated brand strategy and marketing, creative services, and media communications.
Trevor has been serving as interim senior executive director of marketing and communications since July. He joined UGA as spokesperson and executive director of media communications in 2016.
“I am grateful for this opportunity to continue supporting our marketing and communications efforts,” said Trevor. “Over the past five years, I have developed a strong affinity for this place and its vital mission, and I am eager to get started in this expanded role.”
Trevor previously worked as senior director of the Office of University News and Media Relations at Rutgers University after serving as the senior information officer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Trevor earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.
