KNOXVILLE – An award-winning writer and media relations professional has joined the Office of Communications and Marketing of the University of Tennessee system.
Jennifer Sicking brings more than 15 years’ experience in professional newswriting and higher education to the position of assistant director of media relations for the UT System, which she assumed in January.
Sicking has responsibility for media relations support for all UT System administration departments, is lead writer and communications contact for the Office of Research, and a writer and editing associate for the UT System-wide alumni magazine, Tennessee Alumnus.
“Jennifer comes to us with extensive experience as both a journalist and a communication professional in public higher education,” said Gina Stafford, UT assistant vice president for communications. “In addition to her knowledge of higher education issues and concerns, she brings exceptional skills as a writer and publications editor to our team.”
Sicking comes to UT from the University of Arkansas—Fort Smith, where she had worked since 2013 as editor of advancement communications and the alumni magazine, and as a speechwriter.
In 2007, Sicking joined Indiana State University as assistant director of media relations and in 2010 was promoted to associate director of media relations and publications editor. She managed the online Indiana State University Magazine, edited magazines for other colleges on campus, and mentored student writers. Sicking’s work with both local and national news media resulted in national and international coverage.
Her work as a journalist spanned more than a decade and included covering criminal courts for the Temple (Texas) Daily Telegram; crime for the Gainesville (Texas) Daily Register; and regional news for the Denton (Texas) Record-Chronicle and the Pine Bluff (Arkansas) Commercial.
Sicking’s professional awards include a top prize for feature writing from the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors Association and twice winning top honors for best video feature from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, or CASE. She also is a published freelance writer and poet.
Sicking has a master’s degree in English from Indiana State University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from West Texas A&M University.
The University of Tennessee is a statewide system of higher education with campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Martin and Memphis; the UT Space Institute in Tullahoma; the UT Institute of Agriculture with a presence in every Tennessee county; and the statewide Institute for Public Service. The UT system manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory through its UT-Battelle partnership; enrolls about 50,000 students statewide; produces about 10,000 new graduates every year; and represents more than 360,000 alumni around the world.
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