Communications strategist joins Page Center

With a background in journalism, public relations and rock & roll, new communications strategist Jonathan McVerry brings a unique mix of skills to the Arthur W. Page Center.

McVerry oversees the Center’s digital presence, as well as the writing/editing of content that showcases the innovative research projects that Page supports. This includes daily strategic oversight of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and the Page Center’s blog and website. He also, among other things, maintains Page Scholar project data for the Center’s records and manages general internal/external communications. McVerry also teaches COMM 260W: News Writing & Reporting as an adjunct lecturer in Penn State’s College of Communications.

A 2005 Penn State graduate, McVerry has a degree in journalism. He worked as a political reporter (among other roles) at the Williamsport Sun-Gazette before receiving his master’s degree in communication studies at Shippensburg University.

While at Shippensburg, McVerry hosted two radio shows, “The Global Café” and “Rockin’ the Ship,” and completed a master’s thesis titled, “The Effect of Celebrity on the Framing of Darfur in Elite U.S. Newspapers.”

The Happy Valley tattoo did not wash off so easily, as they say, and McVerry returned to Penn State in 2007 to be the writer/editor for the University’s Auxiliary & Business Services Marketing Office. Over that time, he also free-lanced for a number of publications and worked as the marketing director for the State College Young Professionals.

With several nicknames to choose from (most of them are nice), McVerry most recently picked up the moniker “Hops,” as half of the acoustic rock & roll duo Hops & Vines. He plays the guitar in the band and occasionally sings well enough to keep people in the room. He is also a volunteer host on WPSU's “The Folk Show.” McVerry lives in Lemont, Pa. with his wife Emily and an attic full of unwelcome squirrels. He is working on a book about the history of the village and the surrounding area.

Email McVerry: jmac@psu.edu.

Follow him on Twitter: @wawaislife.

Follow him on Instagram: wawaislife.