Rick Boyko, former Chief Creative Officer and Co-President of Ogilvy & Mather North America, joined the VCU Adcenter on July 1, 2003 as its managing director. In addition to teaching, he oversees financial and personnel management, as well as fundraising and outreach to individuals and firms in the advertising industry.
In the years since Rick has become its director, the school has changed quite dramatically. Its curriculum evolved to include concentrations in Communications Strategy, Creative Brand Management, and Creative Technology, in addition to the existing Art Direction and Copywriting tracks. The student body has grown from 100 graduate students annually to 200, and the faculty from four professors to eleven. This change was capped off on January 14, 2008 with the changing of the school’s name from VCU Adcenter to VCU Brandcenter. At that time the school moved into its new home, an open, creative and collaborative breeding ground designed by world-renowned architect, Clive Wilkinson.