Pamela Dumas Serfes, currently interim director of the MIT News Office, has been appointed to a newly established leadership position, executive director of news and communications, effective Jan. 1.
Kirk D. Kolenbrander, vice president for Institute affairs and secretary of the Corporation, made the announcement in an e-mail on Thursday, Jan. 18.
Dumas Serfes brings to her new role "extensive prior experience in university communications and the deep knowledge of MIT she has gained during her years here, as well as enthusiasm and high professional standards," Kolenbrander wrote.
As executive director of news and communications, Dumas Serfes will "plan and coordinate the dissemination of MIT news to the campus, the media and the broader community. As one of the Institute's chief communications strategists, she will be charged with advancing proactive news and communications efforts to increase the visibility of MIT and its programs of teaching and research," Kolenbrander wrote.
Dumas Serfes said, "I am excited to work in tandem with my colleagues in the News Office and across campus to enhance public awareness of the Institute and increase understanding of the extraordinary work that goes on here." She will also "continue to oversee the activities of the News Office while working to coordinate communications activities across campus, collaborating with an array of individual offices to ensure a common vision and a team approach in presenting MIT news and messages to diverse constituencies and audiences. She will continue to convene both the Communications Operating Group and the Information Group, which bring together stakeholders in communications roles from throughout the Institute to develop communications strategy and share best practices," Kolenbander wrote.
Dumas Serfes joined MIT in May 2003 as director of communications and donor relations in Resource Development. Since December 2005, she has served as interim director of the MIT News Office, while maintaining her involvement in developing communications strategy for Resource Development.
Prior to joining MIT, she served for 10 years as the communications director of Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Va. Prior to that, she worked at her alma mater, the University of Maine, where she served in a number of roles, including director of marketing for enrollment management, assistant dean of students and director of new student programs. She was instrumental in developing the university's first women's center and was named co-chair of U. Maine's Council on Women. Dumas Serfes is a native of Bangor, Maine.
Dumas Serfes' "successful leadership of the News Office, emphasizing an integrated approach to the promotion of major institutional initiatives, has reflected a deep commitment to MIT and a consistent commitment to excellence in media relations. I hope you will join me in congratulating her on this appointment," Kolenbrander wrote.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on January 24, 2007 (download PDF).
