Brandeis Magazine

Ellen de Graffenreid, an integrated communications and marketing leader with deep experience in higher education and the high-technology sector, has been appointed senior vice president for communications.

In this role, de Graffenreid oversees media relations; government relations and public affairs; public relations; advertising; Web services; and publications, including Brandeis Magazine. She also works closely with the administration and faculty to develop communications programs designed to achieve specific goals across the university.

De Graffenreid says she is excited to work with the Brandeis community to tell the university’s story. “I am looking forward to collaborating with Brandeis’ dynamic leadership, impressive faculty and staff, and engaged students to communicate what makes the university special,” she says. “Brandeis’ commitment to making the world a better place and addressing its most pressing problems resonates with a wide variety of audiences beyond the sphere of higher education.”

Prior to joining Brandeis, de Graffenreid was director of communications and marketing at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she oversaw public relations for a $220 million research enterprise; developed an integrated print, Web and social media program engaging donors, community supporters and cancer advocates; and led physician and consumer marketing for the clinical services of UNC Cancer Care.

She earned a BA in 1990 from Indiana University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She received an MA in Russian and Soviet history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1993, and an MBA from the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School in 1998.