Acadiana Business

Martin named UL's director of PR and marketing

by Leslie Turk

Aaron Martin, who earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from UL, has returned to the university to head its communications and marketing efforts.

Aaron Martin

Aaron Martin is UL's new director of communications and marketing, responsible for university branding, trademark licensing, public relations and web communications. Martin, who has been in the new position for about a month, replaces Julie Dronet, who left UL in January 2010 to join Cox Communications. Since Dronet's departure, Kathleen Thames had been serving as interim director; Thames is associate director of the office of communications and marketing.

Martin comes to UL from Tulane University, where he worked in fundraising and communications management since 2003.

He also previously worked at the California Maritime Academy, as director of outreach, where he revitalized and diversified the student enrollment and was promoted to dean of enrollment management. After that, he was a regional marketing director in San Francisco for an educational subsidiary of The Washington Post.

Martin earned bachelor's and master's degrees in communication from UL in 1991 and 1995, respectively. While at UL, he was editor of the student newspaper The Vermilion, vice president of the Student Government Association and coordinator of the Student Orientation Staff.