Public Affairs’ Cox honored by trustees

Jeff Cox, senior director of Creative Services in the Office of Public Affairs, received special recognition from the Rice Board of Trustees at the May 17 meeting for his many contributions to the university during his 24 years at Rice.

JEFF COX

“Jeff’s impact can be seen all over campus,” said Vice President for Public Affairs Linda Thrane in her nomination letter. “If you look back over signature events and communications during his two-plus decades at Rice, you will see Jeff’s work. If you look at what has been accomplished over the past five years to help rally the Rice community around our brand standards and guidelines, you will see Jeff’s work. If you look at the key communications products for the Centennial Campaign and the Centennial Celebration, you will see Jeff’s work. He has touched every part of Rice with his talent and dedication, and his mark on Rice – his legacy – will live on for years to come.”

Thrane commended Cox for his leadership of “one of the best creative services teams in the country” and the production of more than 400 projects a year for the entire campus. Among Cox’s many claims to fame are the centennial owl logo, created from President David Leebron’s idea; the 100 banners that provide a walking history of Rice around the inner loop; the new college banners outside of Tudor Fieldhouse; design of the Baker Institute’s book honoring James A. Baker III’s 80th birthday and the “Book of Champions” for Rice Athletics; T-shirts, signs, billboards and programs for the UnConvention and other special occasions; centennial signage for the METRORail train and station; campus maps; and Rice Magazine, which won the 2011 CASE award for best editorial spread design.

Thrane said Cox is a “gifted artist” who approaches every person and project with a “customer-service mindset” and excels at building relationships and trust. “Jeff jokingly calls himself Rice’s brand cop, but has in fact helped embed Rice’s official identity assets throughout campus with a blend of persuasion and persistence,” Thrane said.  Cox developed the coveted Brandy Award to recognize efforts to embrace and promote Rice’s brand, she said.

She noted that even though Cox works more than 60 hours a week, he can often be seen at Reckling Park cheering on the Owls baseball team “out of his dedication to Rice athletics.”

Cox will celebrate his 25th anniversary at Rice in July.