Audrey LeGrande hired as ECE's assistant director of alumni and student relations

Getting into the rhythm of classes and other activities, students at ECE ILLINOIS have probably gotten to know at least one or two familiar faces at this point in the year. One face they’re about to get much more familiar with is that of Audrey LeGrande, ECE’s new assistant director of alumni and student relations.

In her position working with both student and alumni relations, LeGrande will be performing a dual role. As part of the student-oriented aspect of her position, she will be working with groups like ECE’s Student Advancement Committee to plan events such as social events and career fairs and get students involved with the department.

The other role that she will play is focused on the department’s interactions with alumni. She is the department’s main contact for alumni, and will help them answer questions and stay in touch as they continue successful careers. The department owes much to the contributions of its alumni, and LeGrande will help ECE ILLINOIS engage alumni with the department and inform them of events and new research at ECE ILLINOIS. She will work closely with the ECE Alumni Board on matters such as helping choose successful alumni to receive the board’s achievement awards.

Before joining ECE, LeGrande worked for broadcast equipment company Cobalt Digital. Cobalt specializes in developing technology that works with broadcast signals, such as devices that convert digital television broadcasts back to analog so they can be seen on older TV sets.

At Cobalt, LeGrande organized events and trade shows and connected with clients and partners to promote her company. She traveled throughout the country to organize events, get in touch with sponsors, and handled some of the company’s marketing initiatives.

Having worked at Cobalt, LeGrande has experience in working with and planning events for engineering companies, and sees her new job at ECE ILLINOIS supporting the alumni and students at a prestigious engineering department as a logical extension of what she’s already been doing.

The main difference between her previous job and her new position, she noted, is the university environment. However, she sees her outside perspective as an advantage, and hopes to bring “a fresh pair of eyes,” to her work, along with a healthy amount of enthusiasm to help students achieve goals and alumni feel connected.

“At the end of the day, that’s what I’m here for,” LeGrande said.

LeGrande has been planning events for 11 years now, and is confident that she can bring an impressive amount of experience in her new role at ECE ILLINOIS.

“I absolutely love meeting new people and look forward to getting to know the people of ECE ILLINOIS over the coming months,” LeGrande said. “I’ve already met a few professors and alums, and can’t wait to get to know more people in the department.”  

LeGrande grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and studied history at Southern Illinois University, where she met her husband Adam. They’ve lived in Champaign for 15 years and have two daughters: Maddie, 16, and Kate, 13.

Both of her daughters play volleyball at their schools and other local teams. When LeGrande isn’t bringing people together and martialling resources for events, she’s cheering on her daughters in home and away games.

LeGrande joined the department at an exciting time, amidst celebrations related to the new ECE Building. Despite having to hit the ground running, her colleagues are happy that she is getting up to speed quickly.

“We’re very excited to have Audrey on board,” ECE Director of Communications Brad Petersen said. “Her skills are going to be invaluable in helping students and alumni get involved with our department.”