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Cumberland University is a private liberal arts university located in Lebanon, Tennessee, founded in 1842 and now recognized as one of the fastest-growing liberal arts universities in the state. With students from 39 states and 48 countries, 31 athletic teams, and a campus 25 miles east of Nashville, CU is an institution with a rich history and a genuinely exciting present. Marketing for a university means telling a lot of stories at once: stories for prospective students, for families, for alumni, for the community, and for the people who make campus life what it is every day.
What makes this partnership distinctive is proximity. With one of our offices located right in Lebanon, Grit & Gravel isn't a remote vendor sending deliverables from afar. We're embedded in the community, meeting regularly with CU's internal marketing team, showing up on campus, and operating as a true extension of their department. That kind of closeness means we can respond quickly, stay aligned on priorities, and consistently produce content that feels authentic to what's actually happening on the ground.
A significant part of our work is boots-on-the-ground content production: photo and video shoots that capture campus life, athletic moments, student stories, academic programs, and university events in real time. That original content fuels social media, print materials, and broader marketing campaigns that CU uses to recruit students, engage alumni, and strengthen their presence in the region. In higher education, where authentic storytelling is everything, having a creative partner that can show up in person and capture the real thing makes all the difference.
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