Get to Know: Rachel Skipworth

A brand logo or mark can tell a story, invoke a feeling and even generate a sense of community. Using a branded mark has the potential to further or confuse a brand message and our University marks are no different. Get to know Rachel Skipworth, University licensing and bookstore program manager, and learn how her work helps protect the integrity of the University and tell our story one branded product at a time.

How long have you been a member of Niner Nation?
I started here in October 2017, so almost four years. Prior to that, I worked at Troy University in Alabama.

How would you describe your role and responsibilities?
As the University licensing and bookstore program manager, I oversee the bookstore relationship with the University and oversee licensing. I work very closely with our licensing partner, CLC, and all of our licensed vendors. Licensed vendors are companies who are permitted to produce products featuring our University logos. I also work very closely with our campus bookstore, Barnes & Noble Charlotte. I help them manage events, store improvements and introduce new programs and innovations to the University.

Why is licensing important for the University?
Licensing protects the integrity of the brand by ensuring that licensees are using the logos correctly and accurately representing the brand. It also helps manage the overall market to make sure non-licensed vendors are not using our logos. We find people all the time who are using our marks without permission, whether it be on Etsy, Amazon or even at pop-up arts and crafts fairs. It’s my job to request that they stop using the mark. If they don’t stop, I work with our legal teams to issue a cease and desist. Licensed vendors are vetted to verify they can produce the product they say they can, that they follow corporate responsibility standards and that they accurately represent the brand. We can’t verify that with non-licensed vendors and so when they use our marks it’s considered copyright infringement and they must be reported.

Have you always worked in licensing and bookstore management?
No. Licensing was new to me when I started here in 2017. Before that, I worked in fundraising, I was an admissions counselor and even worked in Auxiliary Services where I oversaw dining, vending, bookstores, post office, print and copy center & multifunction devices, ID card office and the information desk.

What role have you played in the launch of the new University brand?
I worked with University Communications to educate them on the licensing process for the new marks. I also worked with our campus licensing partner, CLC, to make sure our licensees were informed of the new brand and given a NDA so they could have early access to the marks. I worked with PromoLogic to produce sample merchandise so we could see how the new brand would appear on product and I will be responsible for registering the new marks with the United States Trademark and Patent Office.

What is the most challenging part of your job?
COVID-19 has made this last year very challenging. I helped Athletics launch their new marks last June. We did not know if we would be able to get branded products delivered in time due to manufacturers and companies shutting down. We were lucky enough to get gear in, but supply chain issues continue to cause delivery delays and product shortages. The industry constantly has to pivot as people’s buying habits have changed drastically over the past year and a half. There has been a lot of uncertainty about how long the effects of the pandemic will last. However, people in the bookstore and licensing industry pivoted in such a way that helped make a very bad situation doable and did so with a positive attitude even though there were many concerns. The new marks ended up being a hit with the fans, However, the new normal continues to be a challenge that we are figuring out how to navigate daily.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?
When it all comes together and people are happy with the product they received whether it be a bookstore product or individual products that departments order.

What is your favorite memory from working here?
Working with Rick Torres on the Welcome Back to Campus kit project. We were in charge of the product ordering, logistics, assembly and distribution. It was a project that spanned from May 2020 to October 2020 and required us to work many 12 hour days, much of which were labor intensive. Regardless of what was going on, I could always count on Rick to be there from start to finish and to find a way to make people laugh. It was an incredibly important project and it was great getting to work with him.

What is something that many people don’t know about you?
I’ve been a certified beekeeper for six years and because of that I was able to help with the Dining Services bee program here on campus. I worked with Chartwells’ former wellness and sustainability specialist, Lindsay Klingenschmidt, to get the bees here. I helped her figure out what she needed to get the program started correctly and helped install the bees in their hives. Now that Lindsay is no longer here, Evan Magnone, director of the Prospector and Aurum Science Cafe, and I feed the bees and manage the hives each week.

Is there anything else you want people to know about you?
I come from a very big competitive family. I used to compete in dragon boat races, half marathons, skeet shooting and obstacle courses. I also used to be a certified RAD (rape aggressive defense) instructor. I can handle losing, but I hate it.