Travis Parman, director of corporate communications for Nissan Americas and a graduate of UT’s College of Communication and Information, will return to campus on Thursday, February 19, to talk with students about careers in public relations and to receive the University of Tennessee Accomplished Alumnus Award.
From his office at company headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee, Parman oversees Nissan’s corporate communications strategies throughout the Americas. A native of Greeneville, Tennessee, he earned a bachelor’s degree in communications at UT in 1994 and joined Lockheed Martin in Knoxville as a public affairs representative before moving into employee and executive communications.
Parman began his twelve-year career with General Motors in 1998, starting as a communications specialist at GM’s Metal Fabricating Division in Indianapolis and moving up the ranks from global internal communications and GM’s Vauxhall Motors brand in the United Kingdom to Chevrolet product communications and consumer media strategy in Detroit.
After two years as public relations manager for GM’s northeast region, based in New York, Parman directed corporate external relations for GMAC, managing the corporate rebranding effort when GMAC was renamed Ally Financial.
Before joining Nissan in 2012, he served for a year as vice president of corporate communications with PulteGroup, the nation’s largest home builder, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Parman, who has a master’s degree in communications management from Syracuse University, is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America, a trustee of the PRSA Foundation, and an adjunct professor at Western Kentucky University.
The Accomplished Alumni program recognizes notable alumni for their success and distinction within their field. A variety of outstanding alumni have been featured through this program, including CEOs and executives of major corporations, Olympians, authors, artists, journalists, musicians, US ambassadors, and civic leaders.
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CONTACT:
Brooks Clark (865-974-5471, nclark5@utk.edu)