Student Affairs Marketing and Communications
Moten's Leadership Shines Through, Earns Recognition
By Teagan Welch, Assistant Director of Communications for Student Affairs
For anyone who has walked around campus, chances are they’ve seen a design or two from Benjamin Moten and the Student Affairs creative services team. Seeing posters and various graphics spread throughout UNC Charlotte may seem ordinary, but the hard work and dedication behind creating those graphics is far from it.
“Starting at the University as an assistant director of creative services, the goal was to provide graphic design and marketing support services to all of the (division) campus partners.” Moten said.
Just two years into his role, Moten was promoted to associate director, where he went from being supervised to being the supervisor. It was then that his mindset adapted. Now as a leader in the creative services space, Moten feels it’s not just about producing designs worth showing, but making sure the team of designers he leads feel uplifted and supported.
“I always want to make sure my designers are feeling empowered and excited about the work they are doing,” he said. “My personal model is to make sure I’m regularly checking in with them to see how they are feeling, what challenges they have and then make sure I’m advocating for their needs.”
Moten’s philosophy on supervision has received recognition from his peers. His leadership earned him the Outstanding Mentor Award for Student Affairs at last spring’s divisional award ceremony. For Moten, it was unexpected and humbling.
“I was really taken aback in the best of ways,” Moten said. “When your work isn’t directly student facing, you question how much of an impact you are having. So I was very grateful to be recognized by my peers and colleagues. I know there’s a lot of professionals at Charlotte who are changing the lives of students every day, so to be considered alongside people like that felt like a huge compliment.”
In his day-to-day, Moten still creates designs that are displayed throughout campus in various ways, such as posters, stand-up signs, digital signage and more. However, he takes on even more responsibility by mentoring two full-time graphic designers on the Student Affairs Marketing and Communications team.
“My goal as a supervisor is to make sure when we are working with our campus partners, we are creating a collaborative space where everyone feels empowered, respected and has job satisfaction,” Moten explained.
Moten has worked at Charlotte for six years now and attributes his success as a supervisor to the guidance he received when he was first promoted.
“It took me a good 18 months to really be confident in my new role,” he said. “Luckily, I have a really great mentor and supervisor who helped me through that transition.”
Throughout Moten’s time at Charlotte, he has assumed many roles but there’s one thing that has always stayed constant: His modest nature.
“I’m just very grateful for the opportunities that were afforded to me.”