Eastern Michigan University has named Walter Kraft as
its new vice president for communications, pending approval
by the Board of Regents. The appointment is effective
August 10.
"I'm pleased that Walter will be joining Eastern Michigan," said
Susan Martin, president of EMU. "His knowledge of
the media landscape locally and nationally, and his background
as a leading communications executive in the region will
help us tell the stories of Eastern's impact in Michigan.
He brings energy and passion to the position and will help
us to effectively communicate the excellent education,
accessibility and programs Eastern Michigan University
provides.""
 |
NEW VP: Walter Kraft, executive vice
president
of Caponigro Public Relations in
Southfield, Mich.,
since 2002 will become
EMU's vice president for
communications,
effective Aug 10 and pending approval
from the Board of Regents. |
"Eastern Michigan University plays a vital role among
Michigan's universities," Kraft said. "Given the economic
and education environment we are in, it is more important
today than ever before to provide thoughtful and intelligent
information about the University and its programs. I'm
looking forward to working with Dr. Martin and the entire
Eastern Michigan team."
Kraft has been executive vice president of Caponigro Public
Relations in Southfield, Mich., since 2002. His
experience includes working with clients in education,
health care, banking and transportation where his responsibilities
included leading media relations efforts, strategic planning,
crisis management and a wide range of external and internal
communications activities. Kraft started at Caponigro
as a vice president in 1998. He was named senior
vice president in 2000.
From 1992-1997, Kraft was news director at WXYZ-TV7 in
Detroit, where
he was responsible for day-to-day editorial coverage and supervised a staff
of 100. During his time at WXYZ, he created award-winning special projects/
investigative units, which won several national awards, including the Alfred
I. DuPont Columbia University Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism.
Prior to his work as news director, he was a writer and producer at the station
and earned three Detroit Emmy Awards.
He received a bachelor's degree in telecommunications
from Michigan State University.
Kraft has been active in several community organizations.
He is on the board of the Mental Health Association in
Michigan and is past board chair and current advisory board
member of Volunteer Impact. Previous board involvement
includes Habitat for Humanity-Detroit, the American Red Cross of Southeastern
Michigan and the International Association of Business Communicators. He
also is a graduate of Leadership Detroit.
Kraft, who currently lives in Berkley, has three children.
His salary will be $160,000.
