The recent wave of newsroom buyouts at The Boston Globe has again proven beneficial to the University. Foreign policy expert and former Globe reporter Charles Radin joined Brandeis' public relations team last month after accepting The Globe's buyout of his contract. Radin, who served as a bureau chief in Tokyo and the Middle East, covered wars in Yugoslavia, reported in central Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall and wrote about religion since 2005, started working as global communications and operations director April 9.

He will focus on staff development work and expanding opportunities for Brandeis to emphasize its relationship to international issues. He said he also will work on improving the University's public image, specifically in the area of Web content, Senior Vice President for Communications Lorna Miles said. He will focus on emphasizing "what Brandeis brings to the global perspective," Radin added.

"I know how to handle and organize the logistics to make these programs happen; I have become an expert in this," Radin said.

Prof. Eileen McNamara (AMST), a Pulitzer Prize-winning Globe columnist accepted a Globe buyout last March and will teach here full-time next semester. She currently teaches journalism at Brandeis part-time.

Miles said she worked with Radin to create the new position, which she said comes as part of Provost Marty Krauss' "global initiative," in which many departments, including the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life and the International Business School, agreed last year to work toward raising the University's position as a global institution.

"We wanted someone to help us in the international arena, because of who we are, the things we do well and because we are a source of commentary on the Middle East," she said.

Radin said he hopes to use his knowledge of international issues to create provocative events that will raise awareness. "We are trying to have a focus on Middle East issues in the presidential campaign next fall on campus," he said of his current projects.

After the buyout, Radin said he was interested in switching to higher education with an emphasis on international affairs, and Brandeis seemed like a good fit. "I know people here [at Brandeis]; I had old friends and people were on my call list," he said.

He he said he looked at positions in several Boston-area schools but found Brandeis' offer unique in the extent to which his job would directly allow him to apply his international experience.

For the present, he won't be teaching any courses at Brandeis, although about 12 years ago, he taught journalism courses at Boston University, he said. He may consider teaching in the future.

"He's a consummate professional with tremendous energy," Miles said.