Brandeis reorganized its Office of Communications this summer, splitting the department into four divisions and dissolving a former unit.

The four divisions will be as follows: Strategic Communications, Creative Services, Integrated Media Relations and Digital Communications.

The News and Communications unit is being dissolved and will be replaced by the Integrated Media Relations unit. Therefore, such positions as editor of BrandeisNOW have been eliminated. Former News Director Charles Radin will now act as the communications liaison in the Office of the President.

According to Radin in an email to the Justice, the job will entail "doing writing and research of whatever kind President [Frederick] Lawrence and Chief-of-Staff David Bunis need."

"The primary goal of this reorganization is to create a more collaborative structure in the Office of Communications to advance Brandeis' strategic goals and be more responsive to the campus community's needs," wrote Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen de Graffenreid, who is responsible for the reorganization of the department, in an email to the Justice. 

According to de Graffenreid, the reorganization "took into account the goals that I was asked to achieve when President Lawrence hired me, the Brandeis Strategic Plan, feedback from the campus community gathered through a formal survey, current best practices in higher education communications and marketing, and a research project in which my team benchmarked the communications organizations of more than 20 peer institutions."

The reorganizations will be accompanied by new communications initiatives and projects. De Graffenreid explained that this fall, the department will be initiating an update of the Brandeis graphic identity and a major market research project. 

According to a July 29 memo to the campus community sent out by de Graffenreid, the Strategic Communications unit will be responsible for the overall editorial direction of institutional-level communications at Brandeis. The unit will handle publications, photography, video, email marketing and web features. The unit will be led by Laura Gardner, who has accepted the position of executive director. Gardner will be working with photographer Mike Lovett and videographer Ryan Scura on major editorial and institutional projects. She will also act as the daily manager for Brandeis Magazine.

The Integrated Media Relations unit will be implemented "to significantly enhance Brandeis' external media presence in print, television, online and news-based social media." The team will also help to enhance internal communications. The University will be hiring an executive director for this unit. This leader will serve as University spokesperson and work closely with the president's cabinet. According to de Graffenreid, the search for an executive director will start immediately.
Creative Services will continue under the leadership of Deborah Wieder, according to the memo. However, the unit will have new objectives. "The team will work very closely with Strategic Communications to manage the visual aspects of Brandeis University's identity and serve as brand stewards, while providing a source of expert advice on creative approaches that reflect the diversity of Brandeis' audiences and goals," wrote de Graffenreid in the memo.

The Web Communications team is being renamed Digital Communications "to better reflect the scope of their duties as a linchpin for our integrated communications and marketing efforts," the memo states. Audrey Griffin-Goode will continue to lead the unit. According to the memo, this team will also work on home page editorial efforts and social media.
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