Tom Eppes
Thomas E. Eppes, a seasoned media professional who has led communications programs for international corporations in Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., has been named the new chief communications officer at the University of Mississippi.
A Mississippi native, Eppes is a former newspaper reporter, state government public information officer and U.S. Senate campaign press secretary who served as director of communications and public relations at two international corporations headquartered in Atlanta before moving to Charlotte, where he headed a leading regional advertising and public relations agency.
A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, where he majored in journalism and political science, he also earned a master’s degree in strategic public relations from George Washington University. He was working toward a Ph.D. in journalism and mass communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when he accepted the Ole Miss appointment.
“We are very pleased to have Tom Eppes leading our communications and marketing efforts,” Chancellor Dan Jones said. “Tom brings a wealth of experience in journalism, media relations, marketing and advertising, and corporate communications, and he understands the needs and demands of an academic institution. With his help, we will be able to continue telling the Ole Miss story throughout the region, using traditional methods as well as the latest social media and other technologies.”
Eppes had visited UM twice in recent years as a visiting lecturer for the School of Business Administration and decided to pursue a doctorate in hopes of teaching full time. But when he heard about the university’s need for a CCO, the decision to leave North Carolina was an easy one, he said.
“I’ve learned over my career that you must believe very strongly in an organization, a product or a service to be an effective advocate for it,” he said. “I’ve turned down opportunities to work for companies or products I didn’t believe in. And I’ve jumped at the opportunity to represent organizations I did believe in. Ole Miss ranks at the very top of organizations I could proudly represent.
“When you think about the crown jewels of Mississippi, Ole Miss rises to the top as one of its most valuable treasures. I would have jumped at this opportunity wherever I’d been, at whatever stage in my career, whether in Ph.D. studies or in a major corporate position.”
Eppes grew up in Jackson, but moved to Greenwood while in high school, graduating from Greenwood High School. He attended Hinds Community College for a year before enrolling at USM.
He worked as a reporter at The Clearwater Sun in Clearwater, Fla., and at the Jackson Daily News/Clarion Ledger in Jackson. He also served as public information officer at the Mississippi Research and Development Center and as press secretary on U.S. Senate campaigns for both former Gov. Bill Waller and Maurice Dantin.
In Atlanta, Eppes worked in communications and public relations for Days Inns of America and Management Science America, a developer of mainframe and PC software.
In 1985, he joined PriceMcNabb, a North Carolina marketing communications agency whose clients eventually included AT&T, Lowe’s, McDonalds, Starbucks and Weyerhaeuser, as vice president and PR director. He became president and CEO of the company in 1992 after helping build the three-person start-up into the largest PR firm in the state, and bought the firm from its founder in 1997.
In 2004, he sold the firm to Eric Mower and Associates and became a senior partner and Charlotte office general manager for EMA. He stayed with the company until he enrolled in graduate school in 2010.
During his career, he has led teams that won numerous awards, including the Public Relations Society of America’s Silver Anvil, an Adweek Creative Team of the Year award, a Cannes Silver, three Silver Clios and a prestigious One Show award.
Accredited by PRSA, Eppes has twice served as an assembly delegate for the association and was elected to a two-year term on the national PRSA board in 2007. He also was elected as the organization’s national treasurer and an executive committee member for 2009.
Eppes’ broad range of professional experience, as well as his knowledge of Mississippi and the university, helped him stand out from other applicants for the Ole Miss position, said Lee Tyner, university attorney and special assistant to the chancellor who served as chair of the search committee.
“Tom is a national leader among communications and public relations professionals,” Tyner said. “Great things are happening at Ole Miss, and I am confident that Tom will provide effective leadership in spreading the good news about how this university and our faculty are transforming the lives of students, communities and even the world.”
Eppes’ wife, Jennie, is a graduate of Delta State University. Their youngest son, Michael, graduated from Ole Miss in 2011. Another son, Jared, attended UM for a time before transferring to North Carolina State University, where he graduated in 2009. The couple’s oldest son, Ben, is a photo operations and technology manager for a commercial photography studio in Charlotte.
Eppes officially joins the UM administration Thursday (Jan. 12). He promises to maintain “a commitment to excellence and the truth well told.”
“My philosophy about communication is that it can only be effective when it represents the truth of an organization that works very hard, every day, to earn the respect of and provide value to its many internal and external constituencies. I see a great deal of pride in Ole Miss across the state, and I see faculty and staff who work very hard to earn that respect. They want the Ole Miss story to be told, and told well. That’s my job.”