Clinton has been a leading medical and science communicator for more than 20 years. He draws from a deep well of experience in higher education communications, having elevated and protected the academic brands of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the University of Maine, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Clemson University, and Furman University.
Clinton’s specialty is combining storytelling fundamentals, digital media technologies, and specific outreach channels to influence targeted audiences and advance a university’s strategic initiatives, which could include increasing brand awareness nationally, increasing enrollment, retaining and recruiting faculty, attracting increased funding, improving internal engagement or mitigating crises.
Clinton has extensive experience in helping position university and college faculty with news media as national thought leaders in their respective fields. Clinton has an impressive record of managing and mitigating academic, administrative, and campus crises. His team received the 2012 CASE Gold Award for Crisis Communications for their integrated communication efforts following multiple tornadoes that impacted Central Alabama, including UAB.
A former science and medicine reporter for newspapers in Texas, Alabama, and Tennessee, Clinton won several awards for feature writing and investigative reporting. In 2000 he transitioned to higher education communications, where he specialized in media relations and research communications. Clinton has counseled university presidents, medical center CEOs, and countless deans, department chairs, and faculty leaders. He has encouraged university colleagues to elevate and innovate their communications efforts as a presenter at annual meetings, including CASE Region 6 and the National Association of Science Writers.
Clinton continues to influence higher education and healthcare leaders to use media relations and integrated content strategically. In addition to his role with John Diamond and Associates, Clinton is president of his own PR consulting practice, Apiary Communications Consulting. Clinton earned his B.A. in communications from Stephen F. Austin State University and an MFA in narrative non-fiction from the University of Georgia.