Twister Marquiss

Twister Marquiss joined the McCoy College of Business at Texas State University in 2021, becoming its first Director of Marketing and Communications (MarComm). He oversees the MarComm Team with a focus on driving the college’s marketing, strategic communications, and public relations initiatives. His responsibilities include strengthening the McCoy College brand voice and reputation, promoting programs and research, and developing connected communications across the organization. He has extensive experience in finding and sharing the personal and organizational stories that support inclusion and build brand pride.

In his first year at McCoy College, the MarComm Team made tremendous impacts in establishing the college's brand and improving its visibility throughout Texas and nationally. The team drove a 73% increase in website page views, and by 2023, website users had doubled per academic year. Social media followers more than tripled, and the engagement rate on McCoy College's LinkedIn account has been consistently higher than any other business school in Texas. The creative team’s overall strategic and tactical campaign efforts have led to a 26-spot leap for McCoy College's part-time MBA in the U.S. News and World Report rankings since 2023, and the college was ranked #30 among all public business schools by Poets & Quants for Undergrads in 2025. Twister has also been responsible for the development, launching, and growth of the McCoy College Newsroom and TXSTMcCoy Magazine.

The MarComm Team's advertising success has significantly increased applications and enrollment. Trends for Fall 2025 are the strongest ever: McCoy College graduate program applications surged 113% year-to-year, with a 133% increase in yield that led to a 54% increase in overall grad program enrollment. Among grad application traffic on the McCoy College website, 57% came from digital ads.

Twister previously served as director of the Common Experience at Texas State, the university's annual academic theme and events. During his four-plus years as director, the Common Experience was the nation's #1 initiative of its kind, setting numerous national benchmarks for student participation, event attendance, and social media engagement. He was a faculty member at Texas State for 18 years, and he has held editorial positions with numerous journals and magazines. His writing and photography have appeared in Narrative Magazine and other publications, and he also hosted a one-time segment for CNN Headline News.

Twister earned a terminal M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Texas State, where he was a Mitte Foundation Scholar, and a B.A. in English from the Honors Program at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, where he was recruited to serve as Sports Information Director — his first position in university marketing and communications — when he was just 19 years old. ✯