CCCU Names Amanda Staggenborg Vice President of Communications

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, the leading voice of Christian higher education, today announced that Dr. Amanda Staggenborg has been named vice president of communications.

Staggenborg joined the CCCU in 2022 as chief communications officer. Under her leadership, the CCCU’s ADVANCE magazine won two awards from the Evangelical Press Association (2022 and 2024) and positive earned media increased significantly. In her new role, she will be part of the president’s cabinet while representing the CCCU as spokesperson and enhancing the organization’s role in Christian higher education.

“Between her academic background and extensive experience in public relations and Christian higher education, Amanda is a great asset to the CCCU,” said CCCU President David Hoag. “Over the past several years, she has done tremendous work directing our communications strategy and leading the production of the CCCU’s award-winning publications. Bringing her expertise into the president’s cabinet will further equip the CCCU to live out its mission as the leading voice of Christian higher education.”

Staggenborg holds a doctorate in higher education leadership from Missouri Baptist University, an MLS from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, an M.A. in public relations from Webster University and a B.A. in political science from Webster University.

“It is a privilege to serve the CCCU and represent our institutions in communications, strategic initiatives and enhancing the impact of policy efforts, member programs and services,” said Staggenborg. “I have devoted almost 15 years to Christian higher education, taking on various academic, administrative and leadership roles, and have witnessed firsthand the profound value of Christian higher education, which I deeply believe in.”

Prior to joining the CCCU, Staggenborg taught as a professor at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, and Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis, Missouri. She was also an associate chair for communication at Missouri Baptist University, serving on the faculty executive committee. Prior to that, she was the director of communications for St. Elizabeth Academy in St. Louis, an adjunct professor at Webster University (where she was nominated for the William T. Kemper award for excellence in teaching) and a public relations associate for the Missouri Division of Tourism.

Staggenborg is a long-standing member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and the Professional Speechwriters Association (PSA). She has offered strategic counsel to a variety of organizations, such as the National Corn Growers Association, the Tenderloin Room at the Chase Park Plaza and Moneta Group. She has written for PR Daily and the PRSA and presented regularly about crisis communications, intellectual property regulations in communications and ethics in public relations.

All media inquiries should be directed to Dr. Amanda Staggenborg, vice president of communications, at astaggenborg@cccu.org. 

About the CCCU 

The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities is a higher education association of more than 180 Christian institutions around the world. Since 1976, the CCCU has served as the leading voice of Christian higher education. With campuses across the globe, including more than 150 in the U.S. and Canada and more than 30 from an additional 19 countries, CCCU institutions are accredited, comprehensive colleges and universities whose missions are Christ-centered and rooted in the historic Christian faith. Most also have curricula rooted in the arts and sciences. The CCCU’s mission is to advance the cause of Christ-centered higher education and to help our institutions transform lives by faithfully relating scholarship and service to biblical truth.  

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