After serving five months as the University of Kansas’ interim vice chancellor for public affairs, Reggie Robinson will take on the post permanently.

Chancellor Douglas Girod praised the new vice chancellor for public affairs in a message to colleagues Friday.

Reggie Robinson

“Reggie’s deep experience in higher education has made him an invaluable counselor to me since he began serving in this role in an interim capacity in August,” Girod said in his announcement. “In addition, he has already nurtured meaningful relationships inside and outside our campuses, and I know he will help us achieve our goals and raise our stature here and across the country.”

Robinson, a KU alumnus, led the university’s School of Public Affairs and Administration for three years before joining Strong Hall’s Office of Public Affairs last fall. He previously served as a law professor and director of the Center for Law and Government at Washburn University. From 2002 to 2010, Robinson served as president and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents, and in the 1990s, he worked at senior levels in the U.S. Department of Justice, including an initial stint as a White House fellow assigned as a special assistant to Attorney General Janet Reno.

Before his appointment to the Board of Regents, Robinson served as chief of staff to KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway and as a visiting associate professor in the KU School of Law. He earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from KU and was an intern for U.S. Sen. Bob Dole in 1978, according to KU. Robinson also served for years as a field artillery officer in the U.S. Army before attending law school.

As vice chancellor for public affairs, Robinson will oversee communication, outreach and government relations for KU. In this role, he will be tasked with carrying out a strategic communications agenda that furthers the university’s reputation locally, in the state of Kansas, nationally and across the globe.

In his new permanent position, Robinson is replacing former vice chancellor for public affairs Tim Caboni, who left the post last summer to become president of Western Kentucky University.