University of Arizona marketing boss leaving for Texas post

The University of Arizona is losing its top image booster.

Teri Lucie Thompson, who led the UA’s rebranding efforts under President Ann Weaver Hart, is leaving to take a similar job with the University of Texas system.

Thompson earned $300,000 a year as the UA’s chief marketing officer and senior vice president for university relations. She will make $310,000 at her new job in Austin.

Thompson came to the UA in mid-2013 from Purdue University where her work won a number of national marketing awards.

“It is a sign of the UA’s strength that our senior leaders are asked to join prestigious institutions like the University of Texas,” Hart said in an email to UA employees.

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Thompson was the brains behind new UA slogans such as “Boundless” and “Bigger Questions. Better Answers. Bear Down.”

She oversaw production of a 112-page “master brand” plan that calls for photos of fireworks and mountaintops to be featured in UA communications.

A news release from the University of Texas system said Thompson has “an impressive reputation in strategic marketing, brand strategy and communications.” She starts her new job April 18.

Thompson’s last day at the UA is March 25.

Melinda Burke, UA’s vice president for alumni relations, will assume Thompson’s post on an interim basis, Hart said