Veteran Mississippi State administrator Sid Salter has been promoted to vice president for strategic communications, announced by the university on Wednesday.
Salter, a Philadelphia native, brings more than four decades of experience in print, broadcast, digital journalism, and multimedia management to the task in addition to experience in public affairs, marketing, corporate governance, and crisis management.
For the past 11 years, he served as director of public affairs and chief communications officer at Mississippi State during a period of unprecedented growth under the leadership of university president Mark Keenum.
As vice president, Salter will continue to serve as spokesman and chief communications officer. He will also be responsible for developing strategies and driving outcomes in the university’s comprehensive marketing and branding efforts.
“Over the last 18 months, our university has completed a rigorous and thorough review of our future growth and development goals with the global management and marketing firm Prophet,” Keenum said. “From that innovative partnership, we are implementing our transformation plan to take Mississippi State to the next level and tell our exceptional story to an even wider audience. I have confidence in Sid’s unique skill set and commitment to MSU in leading this effort.”
Salter joined the university in 2011 as the journalist-in-residence at the MSU Libraries and also taught courses in the political science and communication departments. He wrote a biography honoring longtime Bulldogs’ radio broadcaster Jack Cristil. The project funded the Jack Cristil Scholarship in MSU’s Department of Communication, which annually assists MSU students seeking a career in broadcast journalism.
At MSU, Salter represents the university on the board of directors of University Press of Mississippi, the state’s academic press. He chairs the special events and game day committee, the symbols, and licensing and trademarks committee.
“Communication is a team enterprise. I’m honored to serve my alma mater along with an incredibly talented group of communicators in the Office of Public Affairs and marketers across this vital university,” Salter said. “I’m excited about the challenges before us as we continue to strive every day to advance Mississippi State and grateful to Dr. Keenum for this opportunity.”
At age 24, Salter became publisher and editor of the Scott County Times in Forest. He continued in that role before leaving to become the Sunday opinion section editor at The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson in 2001.
A longtime syndicated political columnist, Salter is a member of the Mississippi Press Association Hall of Fame. Since 1997, Salter has served on the board of directors of Community Bancshares of Mississippi, a multi-bank holding company doing business in multiple states as Community Bank. He chairs Community Bank’s audit committee.
A past president of the Starkville and Forest Rotary Clubs and a Paul Harris Fellow, Salter has served on the boards of directors of the MSU Alumni Association, the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Foundation, the Mississippi Economic Council, and the Mississippi chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. He is president-elect of the Natchez Trace Council, Boy Scouts of America, serving 22 North Mississippi counties and a recipient of BSA’s Silver Beaver Award.
