Jake Stump
Executive Director of Storytelling Strategic Communications and Marketing
Biography
Jake Stump is the Executive Director of Storytelling for Strategic Communications and Marketing at West Virginia University, where he leads a crew of writers and creatives who turn research breakthroughs, campus traditions, and profile spotlights into content that makes people stop scrolling.
Whether it’s a feature on fast radio bursts or a deep dive into the mysterious life of zombie cicadas, Stump strives to craft the Mountaineer narrative to be anything but boring. His mission for storytelling is simple: Evoke emotion and make Mountaineers – old and new – feel like they belong.
Before trading a press pass for a WVU badge, Stump chased headlines across West Virginia as a reporter for the Charleston Daily Mail and Dominion Post, mainly covering politics and government. Along the way he picked up awards, a knack for long-form storytelling, and a love for the unpredictable.
With a master’s degree in sociology and a bachelor’s in journalism—both from WVU—Jake blends a reporter’s curiosity with a researcher’s eye for nuance. Since joining SCM (then University Relations) in 2011, he’s edited WVU Magazine and the Chambers College Magazine, written speeches and scripts, and pitched faculty experts all while steering a team devoted to elevating the University’s R1 research profile.
Stump also serves as a board member on URMA, a professional organization dedicated to university research communications and brought and hosted its conference at WVU in 2025.
He’s also the author of a children’s book (Musket’s Big Adventure, with fellow SCM colleague Tony Dobies), penned well before parenthood with his wife Micalyn gave him live-in editors — daughter Natalya and son Austin. Off the clock, you’ll see Stump fueling up on coffee, headbanging to Slayer, plotting the next great headline, or catching a pro wrestling match—sometimes all at once.
Education
- B.S., Journalism, West Virginia University
- M.A., Sociology, West Virginia University