News

Tracy Sweet Joins Andover Administration: New Director of Academy Communications

At the start of the term, Phillips Academy welcomed Tracy Sweet as the new Director of Academy Communications. She comes to Andover from her position as Assistant Vice President for Public Relations at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. Sweet plans to work with other faculty members to update Andover’s integrated communications, such as the school and admissions websites, as well as admissions and alumni publications. “In the broadest sense, we want to examine how we present Andover to the world and how we express its strengths and values as a premier educational institution,” said Sweet. She continued, “What I hope to bring to Phillips Academy is a balance of strategy plus vision and a hands-on experience in the area of communications.” She cites now as the ideal time for Andover to make these changes in order to further intrigue students who have vested interest in the school. With current Spring Visits and upcoming reunions and interviews, Sweet would like to help serve all of Phillips Academy’s constituents. Ms. Sweet and her husband currently live in Kingston, New Hampshire, though she grew up in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. She was an All-American gymnast and went on to compete at the University of New Hampshire. She graduated in 1992 with a BA in communications. At Saint Anselm, Sweet oversaw the college’s website redesign as well as the creation of award-winning campaigns for communication. Sweet also helped transform the college’s strategic plan into a presentation for all friends, students and alumni of Saint Anselm. Part of her job at PA will be to use the Academy’s Strategic Plan to help lead a communication strategy that will capitalize on “Andover’s guiding principles of academic excellence, access and opportunity,” as she says. Sweet continued, “Through the leadership of Barbara Chase and the Academy’s senior team, and with input from the entire community, we hope to establish this strategy through the lens of the student experience, and interactions with faculty, staff, parents and alumni.” “Not all schools are as firmly grounded [as Andover]. In fact many schools, colleges and universities still struggle with basic questions like, ‘Who are we?’ and ‘Who do we serve and why?’,” says Sweet of her first experiences at Andover. She continued, “What I have found in just a short time is that Andover, with such a rich history and founding traditions like Non Sibi, is confident and secure in its mission”. She began her career working for The Standard Times, a southern Rhode Island newspaper, and has since been the News Director and Senior Editor for the University of New Hampshire . She has worked for the Higher Education Reporter and The Union Leader. She has also had writing published in Parade Magazine, The Boston Globe and the Providence Journal. She is currently on the board for the Greater Manchester Chapter of the American Red Cross. Sweet also expressed her passion for presidential politics when she acted as one of the key people in orchestrating New Hampshire’s 1996, 2000 and 2004 Presidential Debates. Sweet said she has never felt so welcome in any other community than at Andover. “It’s been a real treat to get acquainted at the beginning of the Spring Term when everyone is so energized. All-School Meeting was the ultimate pep rally complete with live entertainment from SLAM and Danny, [the] student body president,” she said. Sweet is very interested in working with all members of the Phillips Academy community to uphold the school’s strong reputation among students, parents, alumni and prospective students. She looks forward to leading an integrated communications program that shows both the Andover community and the public the mission of the school and the opportunity it brings to students from all over the world.