Paul S. Grogan, the president and chief executive officer of The Boston Foundation, has been elected to serve on the University Board of Trustees, Chairman Malcolm L. Sherman announced at a Board meeting last week.

Sherman described Grogan as a "very intelligent" individual who is knowledgeable in the area of philanthropy. "He was selected because he is a significant leader in the city of Boston and in Massachusetts on so many issues that are important today—education, health care, trouble in the streets," he said in a phone interview with the Justice.

"Greater Boston is the high[er] education capital of America, and within it, Brandeis University is a very special institution. I am deeply honored to accept Brandeis' offer to join the Board of Trustees," Grogan said in a Dec. 12 BrandeisNOW press release. Grogan could not be reached for an interview by press time.

Grogan was interviewed by Sherman and University President Fredrick Lawrence before being brought before the members of the nominating committee for another interview, according to Sherman. The nominating committee then voted to recommend Grogan to the Board of Trustees. "He is a major figure in the greater Boston philanthropic world, and he brings to our board a wealth of experience in the not-for-profit sector. Paul cares deeply about the issues of equality and access about which we at Brandeis also feel strongly," Lawrence said in a Dec. 12 BrandeisNOW press release.

The Boston Foundation is a community foundation that "devotes its resources to building and sustaining a vital, prosperous city and region, where justice and opportunity are extended to everyone," according to its website. Grogan is also a trustee of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which "aims to help sustain democracy by leading journalism to its best possible future in the 21st century," according to its website. He is a former trustee of his alma mater Williams College and serves as a director of Community Development Trust, a for-profit company, and New Profit Inc., a national venture philanthropy fund.

Prior to working at The Boston Foundation, Grogan served as vice president for Government, Community and Public Affairs at Harvard University from 1999 to 2001. He was also a senior lecturer at the Harvard Business School.

—Alana Abramson contributed reporting.