University President Steven Knapp announced Lorraine Voles, an alumna with more than a decade of White House and U.S. Senate advising experience, will be GW’s first Vice President of External Affairs.

Voles, who graduated from GW in 1981, has served as Hillary Clinton’s director of communications, the chief spokesperson for former Vice President Al Gore and the deputy press secretary for former President Bill Clinton during their terms in office.

In her role as the first Vice President of External Affairs, Voles will merge of all GW’s public affairs departments, including communications and government relations, and work on building a “unified GW brand,” according to a statement released on Wednesday.

University Spokesperson Tracy Schario called Voles a “home-run” for GW.

“It was a very competitive search,” Schario said. “Lorraine brings a tremendous number of strengths to the table.”

Schario noted Voles’ extensive government connections and said the University hoped she will be able to grow GW into a top-tier research university in her new role.