Henry DeVries Named Director
of Communications for UCSD Extension

October 1, 2007

By Henry DeVries

UC San Diego Extension, the continuing education and public programs arm of the university, has named Henry J. DeVries, past president of the UCSD Alumni Association and a marketing instructor at Extension for more than 20 years, as Director of Communications.

DeVries’s primary role is to increase awareness among a variety of community and university partners of the role the Extension service plays in integrating the collective knowledge of community leaders, professionals and the university, announced Mary Walshok, Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Programs and Dean of Extension.

DeVries, 50, also will serve as the public spokesperson for Extension, which educates 40,000 people a year through innovative local, corporate and online programs. The majority of Extension’s students already have college degrees and come to Extension so they can enhance their knowledge and skills for today’s dynamic workplace and shifting global economy.

“Extension is increasingly enhancing the university’s local impact, national reputation and international reach by assuring a globally competitive talent pool, accelerating the region’s economic vitality, fostering community-building conversations, and improving quality of life for all citizens,” says Walshok.  “Henry’s role will be to help effectively communicate all we are doing.”

Although an integral part of the university since 1966, Extension does not receive any state support. As a not-for-profit public service organization, Extension relies on the revenue it generates from fees, contracts, grants and the assistance of sponsors and other donors. Annual revenues from these sources are approximately $30 million.

Extension is recognized nationally and internationally for linking the community to expert professionals and the knowledge resources of the university. Innovative public programs such as Global CONNECT and San Diego Dialogue play a key role in connecting disparate communities by conducting timely research and providing new business assistance to regions around the world, including our own San Diego-Baja California region. Extension further enhances the international integration of the university and the region by annually serving more than 2,200 visiting students from more than 45 countries and through its rapidly growing online learning course offerings.

About 20,000 individuals annually enroll in Extension’s 2,000 university-level professional and enrichment courses, including about 100 certificate programs and more than 12 specialized study programs. For the convenience of working adults, most Extension courses are held evenings and weekends on the UCSD main campus and three other locations in Sorrento Mesa, Rancho Bernardo and Mission Valley.  Another 20,000 are reached through Extension’s outreach programs, public lectures, and UCSD-TV.

A consultant and professional speaker, DeVries is the co-author of Self-Marketing Secrets (1991), Client Seduction (2005) and a book to be released in 2008 titled Painkiller Marketing. In addition to teaching at UCSD, DeVries is a part-time faculty member at Cal State University Northridge and founder of the New Client Marketing Institute, a national marketing research and training company. Previously he was president of Roni Hicks & Associates, a local advertising and public relations agency, and vice president of public relations for Foresters, an international not-for-profit financial services organization.

DeVries earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from UCSD in 1979, a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from San Diego State University in 1998 and has completed specialized training in management at the Harvard Business School. He lives in Oceanside, Calif. with his wife and four children.

 

Media Contact: Henry DeVries, 619-540-3031 or 858-534-9955