CONWAY, Ark. (January 26, 2017) – After more than two decades of “telling the Hendrix story,” Helen S. Plotkin, Vice President for Marketing Communications, will retire from the College at the end of the 2016-2017 academic year.
Plotkin came to Hendrix in 1995 as Director of College Relations. During her tenure at Hendrix, she helped to organize and publicize numerous College milestones, including the opening of the Charles D. Morgan Center for Physical Sciences, the Donald W. Reynolds
Center for Life Sciences, six student residence houses, the Bertie Wilson Murphy House, the Wellness and Athletics Center, the Student Life and Technology Center, and Young-Wise Memorial Stadium and Plaza.
She led the planning for the celebration in 2001 of the 125th anniversary of the College’s founding and served on the steering committees for the inaugurations of Hendrix Presidents J. Timothy Cloyd in 2002 and William M. Tsutsui in 2015. Working under three
Hendrix Presidents, she oversaw the publication of three strategic plans, support material for two capital campaigns, and five major redesigns of the College website.
“On behalf of senior leaders and Board of Trustees members, past and present, we are deeply grateful to Helen for her service to the College,” said Hendrix President Bill Tsutsui. “She has brought a veteran journalist’s critical eye, as well as a calm head and steady
hand, to both the day-to-day operations and long-range planning that are critical for the College’s success today and in the years to come.”
“While we will miss her loyalty, professionalism, and institutional memory, which have helped guide Hendrix for more than 20 years, we congratulate her on a well-deserved retirement,” he added.
“It is an honor to help share the good news of Hendrix College and a pleasure to work with the outstanding professionals in the Office of Marketing Communications and to interact with the faculty, staff, students and alumni who make up the Hendrix community,” Plotkin
said. “I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with interesting people and to support a dynamic institution that is making a difference in the world. I look forward to cheering from the sidelines as the next chapters of the Hendrix story unfold.”
Prior to joining the Hendrix community, Plotkin served as managing editor for the Office of Communications at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
An alumna of Henderson State University and award-winning journalist, she served as editor, feature writer, and reporter at newspapers in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas for 13 years, including a stint "on loan" to USA Today during the national newspaper's early years, before
beginning her career in marketing and public relations.
She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), serving more than a decade on the CASE District IV Board of Directors. She has been a member of the National Federation of Press
Women for more than 35 years and has served on the board of the Louisiana and Arkansas affiliates.
About Hendrix College
Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1876 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884, Hendrix is featured in Colleges That Change Lives:
40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges and is nationally recognized in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings for academic quality, community, innovation, and value. For more information, visit
www.hendrix.edu.