Modernizing a Legacy
Virginia Military Institute | 2006-2019
Director of Digital Strategy and Brand
One website trying to serve everyone — prospective students, current cadets, faculty, staff, and alumni — and not truly serving any of them. What replaced it was a three-platform ecosystem, purpose-built for distinct audiences, that compounded results over eleven years.
100% Increase in applications Over eleven years
43% Increase in inquiries From targeted recruitment campaigns
19% Increase in women’s applications Over five years
$150K Annual cost reduction Through in-house production transition
The challenge
VMI's digital presence had not kept pace with its institutional ambitions. A single website attempted to serve fundamentally different audiences. The architecture reflected internal structures, not user needs. Content was fragmented and outdated. And the platform itself was limiting.
The institution was simultaneously working to grow enrollment, modernize its public narrative, and support a more diverse Corps of Cadets.
One website became three.
Instead of redesigning the single overloaded site, I replaced it with three purpose-built platforms, each designed around distinct user needs, behaviors, and goals rather than institutional structure.
