Dana Cruikshank has been named marketing and communications manager for Continuing and Professional Education, part of Outreach and International Affairs at Virginia Tech.
Cruikshank will guide the creation and execution of marketing and communication strategies for Continuing and Professional Education and for the many programs and courses that office produces.
Previously, Cruikshank was the communications manager for the Army Educational Outreach Program Cooperative Agreement at Virginia Tech. He was responsible for promoting a suite of programs aimed at getting young people across the country interested in pursuing careers in science and technology that have a national security focus. Prior to working on that project, Cruikshank was the communications manager for College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech.
Before joining Virginia Tech, Cruikshank was a media officer for the National Science Foundation. He was responsible for the public communications needs of the foundation’s Office of Polar Programs and the National Science Board while also helping to publicize results from sponsored research projects. His work was recognized by the National Association of Government Communicators.
In the private sector, Cruikshank was an associate producer for the Discovery Channel and an account executive at Vanguard Communications, a public relations and advocacy consulting firm in Washington, D.C.
A native of Ithaca, New York, Cruikshank received a bachelor’s degree in international studies from American University and a master’s degree in organizational communication from Bowie State University. He is currently working on a master’s of public health degree at Virginia Tech.
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.