Employment
Record
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March 1993—Present
President
Topor Consulting Group International
Mountain View and San Diego, California
Created consulting business to assist institutions of higher education in
application of marketing research and marketing communications analysis
and application. Publisher of monthly newsletter. Publisher of Educational
Catalyst books to assist professionals in marketing higher education.
Consulting clients in U.S., Mexico and Canada.
March 1989—March 1993
University Affairs
Stanford University
Stanford, California
Was invited to reorganize staff from various areas of the University into
a new unit. Assignment: convert unit from University General Funded
activity to fee-for-service in four or five years (was accomplished in
three). $4,861,813 budget. 50+ staff including some bargaining union
members. Facilities include main publications area in Press Building,
Medical School Graphics facility, and four quick copy centers.
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Accomplishments:
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- Turned Stanford Publication Services around fiscally (ahead of schedule)
from major drain on University General Funds to a self-sustaining
business. Created a positive organizational culture within the work group
through dedicated, knowledgeable, persistent and aggressive management.
Introduced personal computer and fax technologies. Dramatically changed
production and job tracking systems. Improved individual and collective
productivity. Changed Assistant Director (Art Director) leadership.
Converted production systems from old cut and paste to contemporary
computer pre-press. Established and maintained weekly production meetings.
Changed staff attitudes: from denial of having to operate like a business
to acceptance of a fee-for-services operation. Introduced rationale for
staff time accounting. Developed techniques (using existing in-house
computer system) for individual time accounting. Improved productivity of
staff.
- Improved quality of products. Encouraged staff training. Changed old
"pubs" myths: too slow, not friendly, too expensive (by changing service
qualities). Set up production processes and systems (developed printed
price-set "products"). Conceived ThriftyPubs in response to University
need for low cost, efficient publications. Introduced marketing and
research ideas. Established strong client services. Used surveys to assess
client attitudes. Developed promotion and marketing for the unit.
Interviewed and hired staff (terminated as necessary). Scaled down staff
(termination, unfilled positions). Developed "sales" position (consultant
to clients). Assessed production, personnel and management situation in
Copy Centers; moved to correct and realign.
- Produced low-budget half-time football, basketball television spot.
Coordinated original music, script, visuals and production. Arranged for
voice-over provided by local Stanford graduate San Francisco newscaster.
Cleared through AFTRA.
- Researched and wrote Stanford Community Report describing ways Stanford
volunteers (faculty, staff, students, alumni) serve communities
surrounding Stanford. Used for Public Relations , Community Relations,
Alumni and Public Affairs purposes.
- Coordinated 1992-93 Combined Annual Giving Campaign at Stanford. Raised
$172,315 in a tough economic environment. Contributions used for drug
abuse prevention programs for youth, shelter for abused women and their
children, food for the hungry, services for the handicapped and many more
human, environmental and cultural programs.
- Worked with three Stanford communications and business Ph.D. candidates to
provide marketing communications research for the Community Partnership in
Santa Clara County. Produced report describing new paradigm for marketing
communications. Authored book describing application to nonprofit
organizations... Marketing Communications: How to avoid Myopia and add
Marketing Power to your Publications. Annual Report received International
award.
- Invited to take on an organizational development project of the magnitude
described by Stephen Peeps, the vice-president who called to invite me to
consider the position, provided a challenge that was very attractive. I
enjoy challenges- as well as opportunities to organize systems and
procedures to achieve goals and objectives. My contribution to Stanford
was the organization and development of a staff, many of whom had not
worked together before, into positive team contributors. Also, since
Stanford was celebrating its Centennial, I had an opportunity to get
involved in a project that was extremely interesting, complex and
successful! Development and fund-raising implications were carefully
considered as my staff and I worked to bring a multiple day celebration to
fruition. Most of all I was able to orchestrate staff support and
contribute management skills for a complex and difficult project. I
orchestrated tasks, built teams, and followed through efforts to achieve
pre-determined ends. My work completed after the pre-arranged four years I
submitted my own layoff about two years after interviewing and hiring my
replacement.
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September 1984—March 1989
Public Affairs
Director of Marketing Promotion
Sharp HealthCare
San Diego, California
Responsible for strategic planning, development and implementation of
advertising, collateral, promotional and public relations activities, and
marketing communications for San Diego's largest nonprofit health care
network with over 10,000 employees and 2,000 affiliated physicians. At
Sharp I was responsible for developing, implementing and evaluating
marketing programs based on focus group market research, some of which I
directed (designed to analyze health care service lines; assisted in
development and application of quantitative and qualitative research).
Sharp HealthCare's comprehensive network of hospitals, clinics, and
physician groups, stretched from Chula Vista to Murrieta in Riverside
County. Sharp affiliates included four hospitals, six medical groups,
three clinics with 14 offices, four skilled nursing facilities, a center
for sports medicine and a post surgery recovery center. The operation at
Sharp was fast paced and extensive: trauma care, a women's health care
center that, at times, birthed over 500 babies a month, an Alcohol & Drug
Rehabilitation Unit, and Sharp Rees-Stealy clinics (as well as many other
services, including nursing facilities). I was responsible for development
of Sharp HealthCare's logo, identity and graphic control systems. I helped
develop, coordinated and managed all advertising, television, radio,
direct mail and collateral from marketing objectives development to
conception, implementation and subsequent evaluation. I worked closely
with advertising agencies in San Diego and Los Angeles. Supervised staff
responsible for employee communications, physician communications,
advertising, collateral development and production, publications, annual
report, and special events.
While in San Diego I was President of the San Diego Society for Health
Care Marketing and Public Relations. I have been active nationally in
professional communications and marketing (IABC, AHA, PRSA, AMA)
organizations.
As a member of Sharp's corporate staff I was instrumental in helping
administrators, staff and physicians develop effective and efficient
advertising, collateral, and outreach communications. My staff and I
provided support for the Foundation (institutional fund raising). We
developed a wide variety of marketing communications support for many
fund-raising projects. I enjoyed working with many administrators, nurses,
and physicians from a variety of disciplines.
Invited to help develop a Department of Public Affairs, a brand new
operation with almost no staff, and to work closely with the Foundation
(fund raising) for the San Diego Hospital Association, parent organization
for Sharp HealthCare, gave me an opportunity to work with a wide range of
constituents, create collateral based on marketing research and direct
media (radio, television, outdoor, print, direct mail) as the organization
faced issues that ranged from transplants to a variety of other health
related and organizational concerns. Also, opportunities to work with the
Board, physicians and administrators as various programs were developed,
gave me insight as to how effective "behind-the-scenes" developments could
be orchestrated to achieve results. Efforts contributed toward making
Sharp the premiere health provider in San Diego.
While at Sharp I developed ideas of organizational culture, mission,
values and philosophies, and how they could be used to develop effective
teams and a supportive working environment. I discovered how important
"empowerment" was to build teams of people who could work together,
developing results that were greater than could be expected by the simple
mathematical total of people involved.
June 1979—August 1984
Assistant Director,
Media Services (Public Affairs department for State University)
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York
Senior communications/publications/visual communications administrator.
Responsibilities included management of large staff, communications and
public relations efforts: publications, photography, graphics, printing,
typography, exhibits, reproduction systems staff. Established integrated
marketing systems for communications projects. Developed marketing program
for undergraduate admissions. Spokesman for department at faculty
briefings. Created system for marketing consumer oriented publications for
New York State Cooperative Extension. Served on University committee to
improve Cornell undergraduate admissions communications. Staff development
to improve publications quality/marketability. Developed coordinated
publication approach with editorial, photographic, design, and production
staff. Established coordinated production meetings: editorial, design,
printing. Created graphic identity program for College of Human Ecology.
Authored book Marketing Cornell Cooperative Extension. Helped develop
marketing program and instructed State leaders on its implementation. This
program eventually served as a model for other states, than was adopted by
the U. S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. Appeared in an
instructional video prepared in Washington, D.C. describing how to market
Cooperative Extension.
Provided communication/marketing consulting service for higher education.
June 1975—June 1979
Director of University Communications
Wright State University
Dayton, Ohio
Administrative managerial position with overall responsibility for
directing the preparation, writing, editing, design, printing,
warehousing, and distribution of University publications. Direct
administrative management, fiscal control, union negotiations, supervision
of University publications, University printing services, University
photographic department, and University mail room (total employee
responsibility: 48 full-time employees plus part-time and student
employees). Total fiscal responsibility: $1,340,495.
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Administrative responsibilities included direct supervision of:
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- Publications staff: planning, editorial development, design of all
University publications including catalogs, viewbooks, tabloids,
departmental folders, advertising, development brochures, admission
materials, alumni materials, coordination of rotary printing (internal
publishing of classroom materials for
faculty)
- Printing services: administrative control of photo typesetting
(Merganthaler VIP), University print shop (offset reproduction),
University duplicating, University copy equipment, and University signs (a
coordinated system of interior and exterior signs based on aesthetic,
safety, and effectiveness criteria)
- Photo department: production and processing of photography to support
University publications, public relations, and news and information
services
- Mail Room: distribution of incoming and outgoing mail and campus delivery
system. Filed for and obtained zip code for University
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June 1975—June 1979
(concurrent with position at Wright State University)
Wright-Patt Credit Union
Director Treasurer and Officer
(voluntary position servicing 47,000 members at the local
military
base, University, and common bond corporations).
Elected by constituents at open meeting, February, 1976. Largest credit union in the state. Assets
over $100,000,000. Served on facilities committee, nominating committee,
committee established to determine marketing strategy in conjunction with
$100 million asset achievement. Chairman, annual meeting planning
committee, 1976. Completed University of Wisconsin Independent Study
Course in credit union management. Elected by Board to Treasurer, 1978.
March 1974—June 1975
Communications Director
Peterson's Guides, Inc.
Princeton, New Jersey
Working with clients, creative planning and production of outreach
communications; catalogs, viewbooks, brochures, films, slide/sound sync
shows, and displays for colleges, universities and private schools in the
eastern United States. Cost estimating, cost projections, and cost
analyses for printing projects. Participation in client presentations and
close coordination with account executives. Creative control and
mechanical preparation for company annual guides to higher education
(4,500 pages per year). Design and production of company promotion,
displays, and literature. Supervisory responsibility for three artists,
free-lance artists, and photographers.
May 1963—March 1974
The University of Rochester
Public Affairs Department
Rochester, New York
Associate Director
Created public relations, admissions, alumni and development outreach
materials for the University, Strong Memorial Hospital, Memorial Art
Gallery and Eastman School of Music. Designed, planned and produced
marketing communications. Pamphlets, brochures, booklets, annual reports,
charts and displays, slide shows, television cards, posters, announcements,
letterheads, University bulletins, catalogs. Worked in areas of admissions,
development, alumni relations, community relations, and public relations.
Art director for University and medical school alumni magazines.
Development graphics: planning, design, production, layout, copyfitting,
type specification, illustration, mechanical preparation. Supervisory
responsibility for two graphic artists.
February 1962—May 1963
Assistant Manager
Syracuse University Press
Printing Division
1959—1962
U. S. Army
Technical Illustrator
1957—1959
Syracuse University Press
Publishing Division
Designed and illustrated books, book jackets, pamphlets, promotion, and
displays. Active University Press book production activities. Created and
prepared artwork for letterpress, offset and gravure reproduction. Book
jacket judged one the fifty best in USA, 1959.
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