Roland King, APR, Fellow PRSA

Now an editorial and communication consultant specializing in higher education and associations, Roland King served as Vice President for Public Affairs at the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) in Washington, D.C., for 15 years, until his retirement in 2013. NAICU’s members are the presidents of nearly 1,000 private colleges and universities, as well as the CEOs of more than 70 specialized private college associations.

Roland continues to serve as a consultant to NAICU, primarily on meeting sponsorship and membership activities.

Before joining NAICU, Roland was Director of University Relations at the University of Maryland at College Park, where he served as university spokesperson and directed the university’s public relations efforts. Previously, he was Director of Media and External Relations at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

Earlier in his career, he consulted with educational institutions on marketing/communication, serving as senior vice president with the Barton-Gillet Company and vice president with F.E. Worthington, Inc., both Baltimore-based communications firms.

Still earlier, he was director of public relations and publications at Bucknell University, where his communication program was recognized with more than 20 national awards. A graduate of Penn State, Roland began his career at KDKA-TV (Pittsburgh). He also has held leadership positions in communication with Carnegie Mellon University, Geisinger Medical Center, Coopers & Lybrand National Headquarters and Ketchum Public Relations.

Roland has served on the College of Fellows nominating committee, is a founding member of PRSA’s Counselors to Higher Education section for college and university public relations officers and is a founding member of the College and University Public Relations Association of Pennsylvania (CUPRAP). In 2005, CUPRAP honored Roland with its Arthur V. Ciervo Award in recognition of his career accomplishments in raising awareness of the role and needs of higher education at a national level.

In D.C., Roland is a past president of the Washington Higher Education Group, an organization of higher education public policy professionals. He also served on the council of the public affairs and communications leaders at the six higher education presidential associations; the associations that represent U.S. higher education with the federal government in establishing national higher education policy.