Ashleigh Jones, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, joined the DePauw staff in August 2019 as the first full-time member in the position, along with Director of Athletic Communications, Bill Wagner.
Before July 2019, the Assistant position was only part time. Working with a part-time position, Wagner felt he was not able to cover everything he wanted. With the addition of Jones to the team, the Athletics Communications Department has been able to do a lot more coverage and expand its audience. According to Wagner, “Ashleigh coming in at the right time and just having the right personality has just taken off.”
Jones took it upon herself to create events for the NCAA Diversity and Inclusion Weekend and the National Women and Girl in Sports Day. Events like these were something that couldn’t be done with only one person. “She has an interest in it, has the strong ability to do it, and that combination is really fantastic because she can do it, and I don’t have to worry about the professionalism of it or know how she’s going to do it,” Wagner said.
Coming into this job, Jones had a few goals of her own but wanted it to be a team effort. “We wanted to work together and find an opportunity for us to tell the student-athletes’ stories beyond their specific sport,” Jones said.
DePauw student-athletes are known for doing a lot of other things besides just their sport. Jones said that “this is also an opportunity for us to show the other sides. Yes, we have these great programs athletically, but these students are doing so much more outside of their sports.”
Many students have been noticing the increase in the DePauw Athletics social media presence as well. It’s now easier for friends and families to watch home events if they can’t make it because they are almost always live-streamed on Instagram.
“It’s about getting the university a little more recognition,” Jones said. “We’re a pretty cool school and I think it’s just a matter of getting those stories out there.”