Alan Cubbage
CRC Fellow, Vice President of University Relations

By Sisi Wei

From Mean Girls to Devil Wears Prada to Bruce Willis’ next murder mystery, Alan Cubbage, Vice President of University Relations, determines if these movies can use Northwestern’s name.

Not only does Cubbage oversee Northwestern’s alumni magazine, he also supervises the university’s web site as well as official publications, including the viewbook mailed to prospective students. His main job, however, “is to make the university look good.” A basic concept when stated, but according to Cubbage, it’s a much more interesting and analytical challenge.

“We think about who the audience is,” he said. “The most interesting part is thinking strategically of what are the best ways to communicate.” At this point, Cubbage used his finger to draw an equation on the table. “Here’s the theorem: audience + medium = content.” Whether the audience means alumni, current students, or prospective students, and whether the medium be print, electronics, or broadcast, Cubbage uses the information to draw out a problem, and designs content specifically to propose a solution.

Decorated from top to bottom, the door to his office is a shining memorandum to the challenges – and triumphs – of Cubbage’s time here at Northwestern. A large headline stating “GAMBLING SCANDAL ROCKS NORTHWESTERN”, the first issue of the alumni magazine, a “Y2K – CLOSED” flyer, a newspaper page featuring the 150th anniversary of Northwestern and a huge cheesecake, as well as critical newspaper columns are only a few of the items posted. Every year, Northwestern also publishes the amount of money in taxes they pay to the city of Evanston in terms of resources. Someone circled the final number, wrote “What a deal!!!” as well as some other commentary, and mailed it to Cubbage. Since then, it’s been on his door.

Cubbage has been at NU for ten years and CRC for three. In addition to being both a university administrator and residential college fellow, he also teaches a fall quarter course titled “Senior Linkage Seminar in Public Relations.” He loves working with students, and wishes that he really could connect with them more often.

Having two college-age kids of his own, Cubbage believes that “college is a time for experimenting. I’m always encouraging students to take a…course they’d never think of taking.”

“Sometimes I feel like I have eight thousand children,” joked Cubbage.

Starting out as a small town reporter in Marengo, Iowa, Cubbage suddenly switched from “thinking about Shakespeare to taking pictures of sheep at the county fair.” Within a few years, he moved to be editor of The Pella Chronicle and then a reporter and later editor, for The Daily Herald.

Then, Cubbage moved into the public relations field, getting a job at the Pace Bus Service as Manager of Communications and Community Relations. Four years later, he was serving as Drake University’s Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement.

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Cubbage received his B.A. in Communications at Grinnell College, two M.S. degrees at Medill, one in Journalism, another in Advertising, and his J.D. at Drake University Law School.