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Office of Public Relations

The Office of Public Relations coordinates the internal and external communications for the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. The office is part of the University’s Marketing Services and Public Relations unit and reports to the University Relations division of Long Island University. The Office, which also reports to the C.W. Post provost, develops and implements strategies to sustain positive public awareness of the C.W. Post Campus, helping to support the institution’s enrollment goals and to build pride and loyalty among its alumni and friends.

The Office of Public Relations is responsible for connecting local, state and national media with C.W. Post’s faculty of scholars on timely issues and research. The office maintains an extensive Experts Guide for journalists and a comprehensive image library of more than 10,000 photographs of campus locations. Our staff of seasoned writers and editors produce nearly 600 publications and more than 400 news releases each year and generate daily updates for the C.W. Post web site as well as social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Publications produced by the office include C.W. Post Today, This Is Your C.W. Post, Post Press and Tree Talk.

The Office of Public Relations also oversees the Offices of Internal Communications, Community Relations, and the Office of the Campus Historian.

If you have questions, please call 516-299-2333 or fax 516-299-2622 or e-mail pr@cwpost.liu.edu.

Public Relations Staff

Rita Langdon
Associate Provost, C.W. Post Campus
Director of Public Relations, C.W. Post Campus (Brookville), Brentwood Campus, Long Island University at Riverhead
Phone: 516-299-2333
Fax: 516-299-2622
E-mail: rita.langdon@liu.edu

An award-winning public relations specialist and journalist, Rita facilitates internal and external communications for one of the largest private universities in the nation. Rita came to the C.W. Post Campus in 1991 as Chief News Writer and was appointed Director of Public Relations in 1995. Prior to coming to C.W. Post, Rita worked as an editor, investigative reporter and feature writer for Anton Community Newspapers. She also was a business reporter and special advertising supplements coordinator for the Economic Times of Long Island. Rita has been honored for her efforts by peers in her field, and was awarded the Achievement in Communications Award from the International Association of Business Communicators-Long Island Chapter (IABC). She also earned a Silver Quill Award from IABC for community relations. Rita also is an adjunct professor in the Media Arts Department at C.W. Post. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism in 1991 and her Master of Arts degree in English in 1995, both from the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. She is the co-author of the book, “Hillwood: The Long Island Estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post.”

Gina Bigelow
Associate Director of Public Relations
Phone: 516-299-2332
Fax: 516-299-3409
E-mail: gina.bigelow@liu.edu

Gina Bigelow has served as the Associate Director of Public Relations since October 2006. In this role, she facilitates public relations initiatives for Long Island University’s C.W. Post Campus in Brookville and the Brentwood and Riverhead campuses in Suffolk County. Her duties include assisting the public relations director with internal and external communications, as well as media relations, Web site content, and coordinating special events. Gina joined the staff at C.W. Post in 2006 as a seasoned public relations professional, with solid experience in corporate communications with an expertise that spans the business, health and not-for-profit industries.

Prior to her current position, she was assistant director of public affairs at the Jewish Home and Hospital Lifecare System in New York City where she facilitated all aspects of the organization’s communications and public relations initiatives. From 2000-2005, she was employed with the New York City Health & Hospital Corporation as an associate director in the public affairs departments at Elmhurst Hospital Center and Queens Hospital Center.

She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts in 1983 from the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University.

Morgan Lyle
Assistant Director of Public Relations
Phone: 516-299-4177
Fax: 516-299-2622
E-mail: morgan.lyle@liu.edu

Morgan Lyle was appointed assistant director of public relations in November 2005. In this position he assists with public relations activities for the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville, the Brentwood Campus and Long Island University at Riverhead. His responsibilities include writing news releases, brochures, newsletters and Web site text as well as promoting the activities of students, faculty and staff to local, national and world-wide media outlets. Before joining the staff at C.W. Post, Morgan was a freelance writer for The New York Times, Newsday and other publications. He was a reporter for United Press International from 1991 to 1993 and for The Daily Gazette in Schenectady, N.Y. from 1993 to 2000. He is a regular contributor to several outdoor lifestyle publications.

Jennifer Fitzpatrick
Director of Community Relations
Phone: 516-299-3500
Fax: 516-299-3409
E-mail: jennifer.fitzpatrick@liu.edu

Jennifer Fitzpatrick was appointed Director of Community Relations at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in October 2001. Prior to this position she coordinated conferences and special events at Hofstra University for more than 11 years.

At C.W. Post, Jennifer is responsible for outreach efforts to local residents; keeping the community informed of campus projects; and organizing special events for local neighbors, such as art and music programs for children, arboretum tours, lectures and concerts. In addition, Jennifer responds to community inquiries and implements programs to meet the intellectual, cultural and recreational needs of residents in the neighborhood. She is the editor of two community newsletters: "C.W. Post Today" and "Tree Talk."

Jennifer earned her bachelor's degree in sociology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a master's degree in counselor education from Hofstra University. She serves as co vice president of the administration for the Brookville Parks Foundation.

Lynn Schlachter
Communications Associate
Phone: 516-299-2333
Fax: 516-299-2622
E-mail: lynn.schlachter@liu.edu

Lynn Schlachter was appointed Communications Associate on March 20, 2000. Prior to this position, she was employed in the Marketing Department at Doubleday Direct. In the Office of Public Relations at C.W. Post, Lynn plans and implements photography for marketing initiatives and advertising campaigns directed at student recruitment and brand recognition. She recruits, coordinates, and supervises diverse groups of faculty, staff and students for photo shoots; maintains archives of news releases, media clips and photos, and supervises office assistants. At Doubleday Direct, Lynn was an integral part of the book publisher's marketing team. She assisted managers and directors in developing new tests, ideas and creative concepts for increasing new membership into different book clubs. She coordinated, monitored and analyzed final campaign results for various media. Lynn earned her bachelor's degree in mass communications from Towson State University in Maryland.

Kenneth G. Mensing
Web Project Manager & Campus Historian
Phone: 516-299-4178
Fax: 516-299-2622
E-mail: kenneth.mensing@liu.edu

Kenneth Mensing joined the Public Relations staff as Web Project Manager in September 2002. He coordinates and manages the C.W. Post, Brentwood and Riverhead web sites, and conducts research for public relations materials. In addition Ken serves as the Campus historian and presents lectures and tours to schools and community groups concerning the history of the C.W. Post Campus. Ken's specialty is the early history of the campus (1911-1954), which is the former estate of cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post. He is the co-author of the book, “Hillwood: The Long Island Estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post.” Ken has been employed with Long Island University since 1992. He has a bachelor's degree from Adelphi University and an Advanced Certificate in Archives & Records Management from the Palmer School of Library and Information Science at C.W. Post. He also maintains an archive for a local church in Rockville Centre, N.Y. He is the co-author of the book, “Hillwood: The Long Island Estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post.”

Stephanie Koithan
Internal Communications Coordinator
Phone: 516-299-2793
Fax: 516-299-2622
E-mail: stephanie.koithan@liu.edu

Prior to joining the Public Relations Department at C.W. Post in January 2009, Stephanie Koithan wrote freelance for a variety of publications including Newsday, the Ithaca Times, and the Queens Chronicle. While completing her senior year at C.W. Post, Stephanie covered interior design and real estate stories for the Home section of Newsday. Stephanie graduated C.W. Post in May 2008 with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Journalism and received the Macaleer Kourday Award for Excellence in the Study of Journalism. As a journalist, Stephanie has had the opportunity to interview Eric Burdon of The Animals, Dewey Bunnell of the band America, Tony Award-Winning Actress Lynn Redgrave, photographer Arthur Leipzig, and several New York City Councilmen and State Senators. As Internal Communications Coordinator, Stephanie disseminates important campus information and publicizes campus events, initiatives and the accomplishments of C.W. Post faculty and students through press releases, mass emails, and our social network sites, Facebook and Twitter.