Ashleigh Johnston was recently hired as Augustana College’s new Director of Public Relations (PR). Previous director, Sam Schlouch has joined the Augustana advancement office as the major gift officer.

According to Kent Barnds, executive vice president of external relations, the hiring process began by working with the office of human resources, the office of the President and the Chief Financial Officer to receive authorization to pursue a new candidate. Alongside of working with other offices at Augustana, a position description was created that was different than past position descriptions. “In this particular iteration there was greater emphasis on social media; familiarity and ability to manage public relations through social media—that was an update from the last time that we searched for this position,” Barnds said.
After graduating from North Central College in 2010 with an Organizational Communication major and Print Journalism minor, Johnston interned at a PR agency in Chicago and most recently worked in corporate PR. “I’m so excited to be here. Between the agency and corporate world, I think this is a really great next step,” Johnston said.
As a North Central graduate who has experienced the liberal arts education firsthand, Johnston feels well prepared for working in the Augustana environment. “One of the unique things that I hope I can bring to the position is that I still remember quite clearly what it was like to be a student, so hopefully I can put my student hat on from time to time and make sure that whatever we’re pushing out is speaking to students in the right way,” Johnston said.
Schlouch, who graduated from Augustana in 2010, also felt that his same experience helped him a great deal in the position. “I think being able to remember the days that I lived in Erickson and the day’s that I lived in Swanson and the days that I lived in Carlsson before it was Evald was really helpful in sort of having the mindset of our students,” Schlouch said. “It lets you do your job a lot better to understand the core constituency of the college.”
Schlouch was not involved in the hiring process of Johnston, but is looking forward to see her carry on the position. “I’ve met Ashleigh since she took the role and I think she’s got a great skillset, great background. She’s going to bring a lot of exciting things to the role,”Schlouch said.
Johnston was looking to relocate to the Quad Cities area and made the connection between Augustana and her interest in Public Relations. “It was really just the appeal of being able to do the type of work that I’ve been doing so far in my career at a place like Augustana.”
“I think that there’s a lot that we can learn through Ashleigh’s experience in the corporate world,” Barnds said. “We conducted a search and attracted some great candidates for this position and Ashleigh really stood out. I think she’s going to be a wonderful contributor to the Augustana community.”