At University of Arizona, brand isn’t just a logo or a tagline—it’s a shared language spoken across hundreds of departments, initiatives and experiences. And at the center of the U of A branding efforts are two College of Fine Arts alumni who know the campus as both former students and current stewards: Frank Camp and Jenna Rutschman.
Side-by-side in central marketing and communications, Frank and Jenna have become something of a campus duo—trusted partners, creative counterbalances and, as many colleagues will tell you, a team that simply works.
“Sometimes it seems like Frank and Jenna are two sides of one brain,” said Christie Harper, the university’s chief brand officer. “They are each very balanced as individuals, but when they’re working together, Frank often plays the role of the left brain – logical and analytical – while Jenna represent the right brain’s intuition and emotion. It feels like they’re symbiotic, headed in the same direction but feeding off each other’s strengths to create a whole that’s bigger than the sum of the parts. It’s fun to see them play off each other in that way, and it’s always clear that they have each other’s back.”
Different Paths
Jenna arrived at the U of A from upstate New York with a camera and a dream that was part Linda McCartney, part Rolling Stone magazine. She enrolled in the College of Fine Arts, double majoring in photography and media arts, and spent late nights in the darkroom on campus, a habit, she notes with zero apology, that made her a permanent night owl. Once on campus she gravitated toward film production and editing.
Frank’s path to the College of Fine Arts was, by his own description, considerably more circuitous. A Tucson native, he arrived at the U of A as an aerospace and mechanical engineering student. Then he became a microbiology student.
He landed in media arts with an emphasis in the business and finance side of the industry, picked up a music minor by spending four years playing steel drums with UA Steel (including a trip to Trinidad), and came within one credit of a chemistry minor.
The Critique
Ask either of them what their arts education gave them, and both arrive quickly at the same answer: the critique.
“I walked out of the room in tears at my first critique,” Frank says. “I was in a photography class, and the professor did not like what I had done. I thought that professor was an idiot and everything I do is amazing.”
He pauses.
“I learned very quickly that that was the wrong reaction.”
He went back. He apologized. And somewhere in that experience, he found what he now considers the most essential professional skill he has: self-awareness. The capacity to hear feedback not as a verdict on your worth, but as information about your work.
Jenna echoes that sentiment. While working with Phoenix advertising agencies, the lessons of ‘critique’ from her arts experience taught her not only how to receive feedback, but how to give creative direction to designers and art directors.
Both also point to something less obvious but equally important: the sheer volume of juggling required as arts students … studio time, labs, performances, projects, jobs … all demands flexibility, resilience and time management. Being an arts student, they say, mirrors the reality of modern marketing work.
A Partnership that Works
The University of Arizona is, as Jenna puts it, a small city. More than 400 marketers and communicators work across its colleges and units, each with their own audiences, priorities, and deadlines. Getting that many people to say the same thing, at the same time, in a way that feels both authentic and consistent is a significant undertaking.
As Executive Director of Brand Strategy, Frank develops and manages the university’s core brand framework—overseeing everything from messaging pillars to advertising strategy and brand asset governance.
Jenna, as Executive Director of Campus Brand Engagement, translates that strategy into action. She works with hundreds of communicators across campus, helping ensure that messaging is aligned, accessible and ultimately effective in supporting student success.
Together, they sit at the intersection of vision and execution, building systems that allow a decentralized university to speak with clarity and consistency.
If their roles are complementary, so are their personalities.
Jenna is quick to name what she values the most about Frank: listening. “I always appreciate that he really takes something in and contemplates it and then gives very sound advice. I trust Frank completely.”
Frank notes two traits that he values in Jenna: confidence and decisiveness. “She is so confident in who she is and what she does. It is what makes us work so well together. Her decisiveness allows things to actually happen on campus and allows the work that we do to actually get done. We are a true counterbalance to each other.”
She adds, with characteristic candor: “I definitely get shit done.”
Advice for the Next Generation
For current College of Fine Arts students, their advice is both practical and expansive: Travel. Study abroad. Seek new perspectives. Take internships. Say yes to opportunities—even the ones that don’t look like your original plan.
Frank spent the first eight years of his career in the U of A’s international office. He never studied abroad himself and wished he had. “Those experiences are what shape you as an individual.”
Jenna interned at Arista Records one summer in New York. She still keeps in touch with the people she met there. “Internships are a really great way to learn about the real world outside of your campus walls.”
Over the years, there’s one thing that Frank has noticed about arts students. Something current students still emulate.
“I’ve never met an artist who wanted to do average art,” Frank says. “Everyone who is in the arts wants to do something amazing.”
Final Two Questions
What’s it like to shape the message of the institution where you were a student?
“So many moons ago before I worked here, we had a slogan that was on billboards all over Phoenix where I lived that said, “Bigger Questions, Better Answers, Bear Down.” It really bothered me because it was exactly like the Papa John’s slogan. I said to my husband, my then boyfriend, that I will work at U of A one day and I will help shape a more meaningful message.”
Well done, Nostradamus.
Frank, is there anything that happens on a daily basis where pulls you instantly back to being a student?
“Just walking down the mall makes you remember being a student. You walk by and the club fair is going on, or the engineering design competition or something that’s been happening for decades on this campus. And you see students experiencing that for the first time. It really does bring me back to being a student here and reminds me why it is such a privilege to work here and be part of creating the future of this institution.”
“Jenna and Frank make a wonderful team!” said Lori Harwood, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences’ executive director, marketing & communications. “They are both creative and intelligent, with a deep love of the U of A. They are also supremely nice people who care about creating a supportive and fun environment for MarCom professionals across campus.” Photo by Jona Bustamante.
Lightening Round
Q: Did you ever pull an all-nighter to get a project done? And is that a good idea?
Jenna: I have and no, it’s not a good idea.
Frank: Agree 100%. I have and it’s terrible.
Q: What’s your favorite on campus arts experience?
Jenna: The CCP.
Frank: Oh man, that’s a hard one. I love everything that happens in Centennial Hall.
Jenna: We both enjoyed Audiorama. We hung out there few times when we felt stressed.
Frank: Also loved the swings. The swings were super cool. (“Mi Casa, Your Casa 2.0”)
Q: Name your favorite cactus.
Frank: Saguaro.
Jenna: Oh shoot. Is agave a cactus?
Frank: It’s a succulent. Sure. We’ll allow it.
Q: Tucson is the sixth-best birding city in America … favorite bird?
Jenna: Flamingo (big laugh)
Frank: What a weird answer … Big Bird.
Jenna: Just kidding, hummingbird.
Q: Favorite U of A tradition?
Frank: My favorite tradition is homecoming. Love homecoming. It’s just so fun to see everyone coming back and having fun together.
Jenna: I think Bear Down being played like crackly on the speakers at noon is so nostalgic to me. I love every time I’m on campus and I hear it. It brings me like right back to when I was an undergrad.
Frank: That’s not your favorite.
Jenna: What’s my favorite?
Frank: Dirtbags.
(Both laugh very hard).
Frank and Jenna are two of 300+ College of Fine Arts alumni, working at the University of Arizona.
- Alex Atkin | BA ’08, Studio Art
Artist alumna grows into a farmer at Tucson Village Farm - Shiloe Fontes | BA ’07, Visual Communications; MA ’22, Art & Visual Culture Education
Sparking curiosity through creativity at Flandrau Science Center - Thomas McDonald | BA ’06, Music Education; MPA ’11, Organizational Management
Music training shapes leadership skills for future Chief of Staff - Frank Camp | BA ’06, Media Arts
Jenna Rutschman | BA ’03, Fine Arts (Photography and Media Arts)
Two arts alumni are shaping the U of A brand