Biography

Christopher is a magna cum laude graduate of U-M’s School of Art & Design, earning a BFA in Graphic Design in 1999. He then joined Skidmore Studio in Detroit, founding their digital practice and serving on the management team for 10 years as Director of Interactive Media.

After making the transition to higher ed, he was Director of Web Services at Washtenaw Community College, where he managed a team of designers, developers, and multimedia content creators. His team won an award for best college homepage design (2009, eduStyle Higher-Ed Web Awards) as well as multiple awards for their marketing videos.

A data-driven practitioner, Christopher’s site search analytics methodology was profiled in the book Search Analytics for Your Site: Conversations with Your Customers by Louis Rosenfeld.

Integrating experience from both IT and communications, Christopher became the first digital strategy director for the Office of the VP for Communications at U-M. Christopher collaborates across campus to develop digital solutions that enhance and protect the global reputation of U-M. He is responsible for leadership, oversight, and guidance for U-M’s gateway (umich.edu) and President’s site as well as other key centrally managed sites. Christopher and his team conceived and built such central digital tools as the University URL shortener (myumi.ch) and the brand signature generator. The team also built and maintains an enterprise WordPress hosting platform for the campus community.

Christopher represents OVPC on Information Technology Services’ ADAC (Administrative Domain Advisory Committee), the Office of General Counsel’s Ethics, Integrity and Compliance Committee (EICC), and is co-lead of the Digital Asset Management Advisory Group.