Augusta University Online adds assistant vice president

Dr. Marc Austin, associate provost and dean of Augusta University Online, is proud to welcome Cristina Raecke to his staff as Augusta University Online’s assistant vice president for strategic marketing and enrollment management.

“Cristina comes with a tremendous depth of experience in both higher education and the increasingly complex world of digital marketing,” said Austin. “She is an innovator and brings great stories, like Augusta University, to life for our learners. We are thrilled to have her join Augusta University Online!”

“I am excited to be part of Augusta University Online and this transformative moment in our history,” Raecke said. “Building an online curriculum is a privilege and an incredible opportunity to provide access to Augusta University’s outstanding curriculum and faculty directly to learners who are seeking a better balance of their work, their lives and their studies, across Georgia and beyond.”

Raecke’s experience includes 25 years in digital marketing, communications, recruitment and admissions. In higher education, her area of expertise is serving as a bridge between marketing and enrollment teams and aligning them around the prospective online learners to build increased enrollment.

Most recently, Raecke served as a consultant for Wiley Education Services where she advised university clients, including George Mason University and Babson College, on strategic marketing initiatives to increase enrollment.

She has also served as executive director of marketing and enrollment for both a medium-sized private not-for-profit, Miami Herbert Business School, and one of the largest non-profit public universities in the nation, Florida International University. At FIU, she helped grow online enrollment from 250 students to nearly 7,000 in seven years.

Throughout her higher ed career, Raecke has overseen digital and non-digital paid strategies focused on increasing enrollment in almost 20 MBA and specialized master’s on-campus degrees and 75 fully online undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Prior to her career in higher education, Raecke worked in the telecommunications industry with Lucent Technologies and Nortel Networks; in the professional services arena with Greenburg Traurig, one of the largest national law national firms; and in the TV industry with Univision Television Networks, the leading Spanish-language media company in the U.S., The Univision Television Networks.

Raecke is a graduate of the University of Richmond and has an MBA from McComb’s School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, where she was awarded a full fellowship through the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management.

Be a part of the process
The Augusta University Online landing page is a a way for Austin and his staff to share updates about the progress of the initiative. Included on the page is a frequently asked questions section.

Part of the process of building this new college is listening, and Austin hopes faculty, staff and current and prospective students will lend their voices to the “Ask a Question” section at the bottom of the page. This input will not only help address questions for the AU community, but also shape Augusta University Online’s development.

Austin is underway with building out the infrastructure and student experience, all tied to the university’s newly launched strategic plan: Creating a Legacy Like No Other.