Opdyke Named Associate Dean of Marketing and Communications
Heidi Opdyke, interim director of marketing and communications, has accepted the position of associate dean of marketing and communications for the Mellon College of Science. Her appointment begins April 1.
“Heidi’s deep skills and knowledge make her the ideal person for this critical role,” said Barbara Shinn-Cunningham, Glen de Vries Dean of the Mellon College of Science. “I look forward to partnering with her to elevate MCS’s mission and communicate how our science impacts lives and expands our knowledge of the world.”
Opdyke joined MCS as a science writer in 2022 and served as the interim director of the college since 2024. She has been in communication roles at Carnegie Mellon since 2008, including associate director of internal communications, managing editor of The Piper and a communications manager and a senior writer for University Communications and Marketing.
In the past year, Opdyke has enhanced graduate and undergraduate admission marketing, directed rebranding efforts for the McWilliams Center for Cosmology and Astrophysics, contributing to the promotion of the Richard King Mellon Hall of Sciences and broadened the ways MCS shares stories.
As associate dean, Opdyke will continue to oversee marketing and communications for MCS including the college’s Science Connection magazine and the four departments. She also is responsible for collaborating on marketing efforts with Admission, Advancement and University Communications and Marketing and affiliated research institutions such as the Neuroscience Institute and the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, a joint effort between the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon.
Opdyke was nominated for a Mellon College of Science Senior Rookie award in 2024. She previously won a College of Fine Arts Henry Award in 2017 and a Gold CUPPIE for publications from the Association of Communicators in Education. She was a 2004 national semi-finalist for a Phillips Foundation reporting grant and was invited by the German government to participate in the Germany for Young Journalists program in 1999.
Opdyke earned her master’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Prior to joining Carnegie Mellon, she worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. She previously served as the founding editor of the Savoy Star in Illinois along with writing and editing for other Midwest publications.
