University of Memphis names former FedEx exec Michele Ehrhart next communications chief
The University of Memphis has hired a new communications chief, who is joining the institution after spending more than two decades with the Bluff City’s largest company.
U of M has named Michele Ehrhart its senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer. Most recently, she ran her own communications firm, and before that, she was an executive with FedEx. She’s set to begin her new role on April 1. She’ll lead the university’s 20-person marketing and communications team ― which handles internal communications, marketing, media relations, graphic design, social media, photography, and videography.
“Having been with a Fortune 500 company for the past two decades, Michele brings a wealth of experience to this vital role at our university,” said U of M president Bill Hardgrave in a press release. “Her knowledge of Memphis and of local industry, coupled with her success in leading high-performing teams, make her the ideal person to be at the helm of our marketing and communications team, especially as we continue to advance our Ascend strategic plan and R1 journey.”
According to her LinkedIn page, Ehrhart started with FedEx as a marketing advisor in 2000. She held this role until 2011 when she became a manager of digital content. In 2014, she was named a manager of media relations; and later that year, she was promoted to the role of managing director of communications for FedEx Freight, the company’s less-than-truckload subsidiary.
Then, in 2018, she was made vice president of global communications for FedEx Services. She stayed in this role until 2022 when she left FedEx and started her own firm, Hart Communications.
She has a bachelor’s degree from Austin Peay State University and an MBA from U of M.
Ehrhart is set to round out the executive team at U of M, which has hired numerous upper-level staffers in recent months. In December, the university named Rene Bustamante, another former FedEx executive, its COO and CFO. That same month, it named Kennesaw State University executive Jeff Delaney its CIO, promoted U of M veteran Melinda Carlson to the role of VP for student affairs, and hired Heidelberg University leader Tony Bourne to be VP for enrollment management.
U of M also named former Little Rock police chief Keith Humphrey the campus chief of police in February.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: University of Memphis names Michele Ehrhart chief communications officer
