Profile picture of Tom McDonnell

Tom McDonnell

Professor of Practice
Phone: 541-346-2087
Office: 222 Allen Hall
City: Eugene

Biography

Tom joined the esteemed UO Advertising Faculty fall term 2014. His classroom focus has been on challenging students to raise the quality of creative across the program, as well as helping strengthen the strategic focus of student work. Tom also briefly served as Director of Marketing and Communications for UO where he was instrumental in the launch of the Knight Campus.

Prior to UO Tom spent 30+ years in advertising, primarily in New York, as a Copywriter and Creative Director. Tom has worked on everything from Angel Soft for Georgia Pacific to Z cars for Nissan. He’s created and guided global launches for billion dollar products, brand building for niche players, retail, tent cards – Tom’s done it all…except a Super Bowl spot. In addition to billions in sales for his clients, Tom even managed to win a few awards along the way.

Tom’s non-academic, non-advertising life has included stints as a waiter, electro-chemical research technician, and selling women’s shoes for Neiman~Marcus. Each of these providing insights he still finds invaluable to this day. Working in New York while living in a small Hudson Valley farming community provided a daily 2+ hour commute – each way – and loads of quality reading time; which he so desperately misses. This also provided Tom the daily opportunity to collaborate with some of the smartest, most talented, very best professionals in the world, across a diversity of fields; while staying grounded, in touch with what really matters, and firmly rooted in his small-town Oregon upbringing.

Please visit his website for more information.

Education

BS, Journalism/Advertising, University of Oregon, 1982