John Della Contrada

John Della Contrada was named vice president for University Communications in 2018 after previously serving as associate vice president for media relations and stakeholder communications. As vice president, John serves as university spokesperson and is responsible for UB's strategic communications, including branding and marketing, digital and social communications, media relations, internal communications, crisis communications and issues management. He holds a master’s degree in communications management from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and a bachelor’s degree in English from SUNY Oswego.

John is past president of the Buffalo Niagara Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and is a recipient of the chapter's Outstanding Practitioner award. In 2015 he received the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Professional Service, which honors excellence in professional staff performance both within and beyond the position.