On Aug. 13, 2025, Chief Marketing Officer and Associate Vice President for Strategic Communications as well as a Linfield alumnus, Scott Nelson, announced on his social media that he would no longer be working for Linfield University.
For those who aren’t familiar with the job title, Nelson oversaw all communications and marketing efforts for Linfield. Additionally, he served on the leadership team which consists of the President, provost and other vice presidents.
After nearly a decade of employment, Nelson’s departure marks a loss for the greater Linfield community. Nelson knew on June 30, roughly two months prior to his official announcement, that he wouldn’t be returning to Linfield.
The alumnus’ departure came as a result of Linfield’s ongoing Balanced Budget Initiative.
“[There] were some cuts made as part of last year. A lot of them were voluntary…And I think there was an expectation that the senior leadership needed to be a part of that,” said Nelson.
During the height of the budget cut talk from students last semester, much of the emphasis was placed on concerns over faculty taking the brunt of the upcoming cuts. For many students, the thought that one of the vice presidents could be let go, voluntarily or otherwise, hadn’t crossed their minds. But it had for Nelson.
“I drew the short straw being a senior leader who ended up leaving, this is the way it goes sometimes. I bear Linfield no ill will. I will always love the school,” said Nelson. “It can happen to anybody. That’s probably the way it should be when you’re making those sorts of changes across the board.”
The former VP, aware of the student body concern over the possible cuts to faculty, assuaged some of that anxiety.
“The way that this Balanced Budget Initiative is set up, more staff members than faculty will be reduced,” said Nelson.
When it came to why he’d waited as long as he did before making the information public, Nelson expressed he didn’t want to be too hasty.
“I wanted to decide what to say and be intentional about it,” said Nelson. “Keep in mind that, June 30, a whole bunch of employees separated from Linfield, not just me.”
So, what comes next? There were a few options brought up over the course of the conversation, one of them being an expansion of Nelson’s acting career. For those that don’t know, the alumnus has a part-time acting career with over 20 credits to his name.
“Acting is something I do part time and I enjoy it part time. It’s a crazy enough space that I don’t necessarily want to do that for my entire livelihood,” said Nelson.
While not wanting acting to be a dominant part of his life, he explained how the artform interacts with his other passions and talents.
“Writing and marketing both are intellectual pursuits for me, Acting has to come from a very different place,” said Nelson.
With Nelson’s noteworthy background in writing and marketing, his next steps will inevitably keep pulling him in that direction.
“I was a journalist for a long time at a very high level. So I spent many years interviewing famous, powerful and wealthy people on all sorts of subjects,” said Nelson. “I was able to bring that experience and skill set to a marketing framework.”
When the notion of maybe returning to another university was brought up, Nelson didn’t seem to be trending in that direction, at least for the time being.
“I never intended to work in higher education. And so I’m not necessarily looking to go to another university,” said Nelson.
As an alum, Nelson reflected on the near full circle quality of his work here at Linfield. By the time he was hired in 2016 it had been 22 years since he had made the transition from student to alumnus.
“When I graduated in 1994, I never expected to come back, so it feels crazy to me that I got a chance to come back here for nine years,” said Nelson.
Once Nelson got into the subject of universities, he gave a few candid thoughts about where they could be headed in the years to come.
“My prediction is that a third of colleges and universities in the United States will be out of business in the next 20 years. Higher education is in an interesting place nationally right now,” said Nelson.
Nelson’s warnings were not unfounded, however. Since 2020, over 40 colleges and universities have closed their doors, and or merged with other institutions to stay afloat.
Nelson continued with foreboding warnings about what the future could hold for colleges and universities down the road.
“The universities that decide to invest in growth marketing and telling their stories will survive. I think there will be some well known and respected names who are not on the survivors list.”
As for his own future outside of universities, he remained positive.
“Ask me in a few more months but at the moment, I’m still pretty optimistic. I’ve had some conversations with some agencies already,” said Nelson. He expressed a strong preference to stay local and in Oregon.
After the conversation began to wind down, Nelson reflected on some of his favorite memories and accomplishments from his time at Linfield.
“Both of my kids were here when I was. seeing them grow up and graduate was really a joy,” said Nelson.
Besides himself, his ex-wife, mom and grandfather all attended Linfield. Nelson’s family connection to Linfield dates all the way back to 1929. A more complete picture of those connections will be linked at the end.
“I read names at commencement of so many students I knew from their first year, when they arrived as scared 18-year-olds, and I read their names as they walked across the stage. It’s beautiful,” said Nelson.
Outside of his connections to his children and students’ journeys, he took great pride in some of the accomplishments he had a hand in.
“I am particularly proud of the creation of the wrestling program. It went from an idea to a club in the pandemic, then to an actual program in a very short amount of time. That doesn’t happen anywhere,” said Nelson. “And that’s a legacy that will be here for generations.”
Nelson served as the advisor for the wrestling club from 2021-22 before it became an official sport of Linfield. His son and fellow alumnus Abram Nelson, started the club team.
Another stat on his achievements while being a part of senior leadership was getting to watch the university grow and expand.
“We changed Linfield’s story in 2020. We went from Linfield College to Linfield University. We added graduate programs, created a new academic structure and moved into a new nursing school in Portland,” said Nelson. “One of the bigger moments of transformation in the entire Linfield history. And I was able to help tell that story to the world.”
Nelson acknowledged the kind of unique environment Linfield is and the positive impact that had on his tenure here, as well as acknowledging what makes Linfield special:
The special sauce that makes Linfield what it is, is the people, the relationships, [at our size we’re able to provide a really good education and you’re connected to these people for the rest of your life. On the other side Linfield needs to be less risk averse and move forward aggressively into a different kind of structural future. We have to change and grow and develop, but keep the special sauce that makes Linfield what it is. That would be my hope for Linfield and everybody here.
Wherever Nelson ends up next, the Linfield community wishes him well and will be on the lookout for him either in the movies or at upcoming football or wrestling events.
Below you will find an article about his family ties to Linfield and his farewell post.
