‘A real privilege’: NYU’s new spokesperson on stepping into the role

Last month, Wiley Norvell took on a new role as NYU’s senior spokesperson, succeeding John Beckman — who served as the university’s voice for 29 years.

As senior vice president for university relations and public affairs, Norvell leads a team of around 50 people to answer press requests and publish statements about NYU. He also oversees the university’s branding — such as its websites, iconography and social media — as the chief marketing officer and chief commercial officer. 

Norvell spoke with WSN about his decadeslong career in communications, his deep connection to New York City and what he hopes to achieve in his new position at NYU.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

WSN: What inspired you to apply for the position?

Norvell: John Beckman is somebody everyone in New York City public relations knows, so when he made the decision to retire, a lot of people were interested in coming to work for NYU. It’s one of the great New York City institutions if you’re a New Yorker — it’s a really special place and everyone knows that. I didn’t initially think that this was the moment for a big change, but these jobs are really special, they do not come around very often and it’s a real privilege to get to work with a team like this, for an institution like this. One thing I’ve learned in my career is when there’s a great opportunity, you have to run for it. Don’t sit back expecting it’ll come again. Life is short.

Norvell studied politics and public policy at the University of Virginia and University of Toronto before moving to New York City in 2004. Over the next two decades, he built a career in communications, working in both the political and corporate spheres before assuming his current positions at NYU. 

WSN: How did you get started in communications?

Norvell: When I moved to New York, I just couldn’t get enough gigs together to make a journalism career viable. But I was interested in policy and nonprofit work in general, so I got a job at Transportation Alternatives, which is a bicycle advocacy organization at its heart. That’s the job that helped me get to know New York City. I organized bike tours across five boroughs, into neighborhoods I’ve never been in before, getting to understand the city’s political landscape. I started managing 1,000 volunteers for bike rides and advocacy campaigns. As the organization matured, they needed a communications person. I’d been a reporter for a hot minute, and knew how to write. So I raised my hand for that role and got it.

Shortly after leaving Transportation Alternatives in 2010, Norvell became a press secretary for then-public advocate Bill de Blasio. The transition from advocacy to government communications wasn’t seamless — one of Norvell’s first tasks in de Blasio’s office was drafting an anti-bike lane statement, an initiative that starkly contrasted his personal values. Over the next decade, as de Blasio became mayor and Norvell became his communications director, Norvell said he managed a variety of public service responsibilities, from launching a road safety project to coordinating crisis response after Hurricane Sandy.

WSN: What was it like to work at the New York City mayor’s office?

Norvell: It’s a really humbling thing to be in a government that touches people’s lives so intimately and immediately. There’s a lot of gratification. You announce a bike lane project and three weeks later, you’re biking on it. We launched universal pre-K, and my friends’ kids are going to pre-K at centers where I was part of the team that helped bring it to fruition. Being able to live in the place that you’re shaping is a particularly beautiful thing — it renews you and props you up when the world is beating you down.

Norvell said that after he left de Blasio’s communications team during the COVID-19 pandemic, he started at Rubenstein, a local public relations firm, as senior vice president. Over the next few years, he became the company’s executive vice president and worked with clients in various industries, such as education, real estate and sports.  

WSN: What was your first connection with NYU?

Norvell: My partner of 15 years is a Gallatin graduate. That’s probably where my NYU origin story starts — their circle of friends that they’ve sustained over many years. I spent many years dabbling in that affinity group and hearing about their university experience. I bike a lot, so whether it’s on Bleecker Street or around the park nearby, seeing the evolution of the landscape of NYU has always been interesting to me. This part of the city means a lot to me — I remember being in Washington Square Park at WorldPride in 2019, which was the last real party before the pandemic with some of my closest friends, some of whom aren’t with us anymore.

Norvell is stepping into his role as spokesperson amid a time NYU is facing heightened national scrutiny. In recent years, the university has made headlines for its crackdown on pro-Palestinian speech and a data breach that leaked over 3 million applicants’ personal information. Last May, Beckman authored a statement criticizing Gallatin graduate student Logan Razos for condemning the war in Gaza during his graduation speech — which sparked national discourse after the university withheld Razos’ diploma.

WSN: What do you expect to be doing at NYU?

Norvell: It’s the belly of the beast. You’re in the ecosystem of every varied interest across the university. Helping to align those and pull coherence and direction out of them is a real challenge. It’s not about just landing one story in a publication and counting it as a success. You’re thinking about how you tell that story continually across all the range of media at the university’s disposal, and how you help people buy into that story as an authentic one that they see for themselves — as a student, faculty member, parent or alum. What’s the thing that brings us all together?

Contact Zachary Karp at [email protected].