Communications Office Staff

Michael P. Strysick

Michael's nearly 20 years of professional experience is split evenly between his work as a faculty member and administrator. He earned his Ph.D. in comparative literature at Binghamton University, SUNY, and shortly thereafter completed an NEH Summer Seminar at Yale University with the now late R.W.B. Lewis. He has taught English at Georgia Tech, campuses in the Kent State and University of Wisconsin systems, Davidson College and Wake Forest University, where he transitioned to administrative staff and began his career in communications.

More recently, Strysick served as executive director of college relations and associate vice president for institutional advancement at Austin College in Sherman, Texas.

Immediately prior to his appointment at Centre, Strysick worked as a Strategic Partner with Patton McDowell & Associates, a Charlotte-based consultancy that provides philanthropic counsel and organizational strategy.

Diane Johnson

Diane has been a college writer and editor for more than 20 years, most of them at Centre. She graduated with distinction from the history honors program at the University of Virginia. Like Sherlock Holmes, it is a hobby of hers “to have an exact knowledge of London.” Diane is also a little photo shy.

Tom Sturgeon

Tom, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, has been at Centre since 1993. Prior to Centre, Tom worked at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center Office of Medical Communications. He received a B.F.A. from the University of Kentucky in 1991. He likes piña coladas and getting caught in the rain.

Amy Clark Wise

Amy Wise joins the Centre Communications staff with 15 years of direct experience in public relations and marketing communications. Her career has followed a path of marketing roles, including work at Preston-Osborne, the Kentucky Department of Travel and Tourism, and most recently, Commonwealth Cancer Centers of Kentucky, where she served as Director of Communications.

A Danville-Boyle County native, Amy is an alumna of the 2009 Leadership Boyle County program. She is also active in professional organizations relevant to her field and serves on the advisory board of several civic organizations in the community.

Amy graduated with honors in 1998 from the University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications, earning her B.A. in Integrated Strategic Communication.

She lives in Danville with her husband, Kendal, and two children, Molly and Colin.

Ryan Lanigan

Ryan is a native of Lincoln county who has been in the design field for 8 years.

He has that rare combination of left and right brain skills that make him talented both artistically and analytically. Not only does he have an impressive portfolio of print, illustration, and web design work, but also he is proficient in video editing and web coding, including experience with WordPress. A graduate (summa cum laude) of EKU's graphic design program, Ryan has also worked at Wausau Paper, Alltech and DecoArt. In addition, he has worked as a freelance artist, and you would recognize that work most notably through his logo design for the 303W restaurant in Danville. Ryan has also worked with companies such as Westcon, Avaya, Polycom, Keeneland Thoroughbred Racing, Iomega, EKU, Kentucky Ale and BossaNova Consulting.

Ryan and his wife Renee' have two sons, Aiden and Asher.

Chris Floyd

Chris Floyd, a native of Danville, is a freelance photographer who has worked at Centre since 2005. He attended Eastern Kentucky University, and has a wonderful wife, Tami, and two daughters, Megan and Karly.

Mary Kay Jones (Katie)

Mary Kay began working at Centre in 2000 and is responsible for a variety of duties within the Communications Office including the weekly Notesworthy online newsletter, Centre website updating, athletic media guides, publications, project coordinating, and many administrative duties. Before coming to Centre, MK worked as a graphic artist and photographer for a ceramics and craft manufacturing company.

Cindy Long

Cindy has worked at Centre since 2001. She holds a B.A. in journalism from Indiana University and is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. She and her husband, Mark, have three children—Hunter, Conner, and Madison—a black lab named Joe, and two cats, Cuddles and Cocoa. Cindy enjoys working in their summer garden, baking, and traveling with Mark on their Harleys.

John Rusnak

Originally from Pittsburgh, Pa., John moved to Danville in 2003 and worked as a web design consultant before joining the staff at Centre in 2008. He has a B.S. degree in computer science from the University of Pittsburgh, where he held several jobs over the years. John also worked various computer-related positions at a healthcare company for 17 years. In his spare time, he enjoys creating artwork, cooking, songwriting, recording, playing piano, and performing with Dump Truck on the Run, a local rock band.

Elizabeth Trollinger

Elizabeth Trollinger graduated with honors from Centre in 2011 with a B.A. in English and history. A Danville native, Elizabeth interned at the B. Carroll Reece Museum and in the Centre Communications Office before becoming a member of the staff. Elizabeth enjoys creative writing, reading, watching movies and being a conspiracy theory buff in her spare time.