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Roqua Montez IV is the vice chancellor of communications, marketing, and social media at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he spends his days helping a great public university explain what it does, why it matters and what it might make possible next.

An award-winning reporter, editor, bureau chief and editorial writer at USA TodayÌýand the San Jose Mercury News, Roqua has spent nearly two decades helping research universities, public institutions and technology companies tell their stories - and, occasionally, helping them figure out what the story actually is.

Before joining ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½Æƽâ°æÏÂÔØ, he served as interim associate vice chancellor for communications and public affairs at UC Berkeley, where he helped leaders explain some of the university’s most consequential moments, including the Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action, and what those decisions meant for students, faculty and the institution. He also led external communications for Berkeley’s record-setting $7.4 billion capital campaign.

Earlier, as editor in chief at Hewlett-Packard, he led communications for the company’s global internal audience and supported communications strategy during the historic split of the renowned technology giant. Across those roles, he has worked with faculty, staff, executives, and reporters; prepared leaders for difficult conversations and major announcements; and helped make sense of institutions whose work rarely fits neatly into a headline.

He believes good communications start with curiosity, that the best stories are often hiding in plain sight, and that a university should be more than a place where people earn degrees. It should be a place where ideas get tested, difficult questions get asked and the future gets a little less mysterious.

Outside of work, Roqua trains in Muay Thai, which is a useful reminder that getting punched in the face is not, in fact, a substitute for strategic planning. He also lives with an unreasonable number of plants, all of whom have strong opinions about his watering schedule.