Jennifer McCarrel

Jennifer McCarrel, APR, is vice chancellor for University Communications and Marketing serving on the Chancellor’s Cabinet and leading the university’s communications, marketing and brand strategy. A senior adviser to the chancellor and university leadership, she provides counsel on reputation, executive communications, institutional strategy and complex and emerging issues — bringing an understanding of audience, perception and trust to the leadership table. 

For McCarrel, the work is personal.

A first-generation college graduate and former public school teacher, she believes deeply in the power of public education to change trajectories — for individuals, families and entire communities. Education opened doors in her own life, and she has spent much of her career serving institutions with a public mission and helping others understand why their work matters.

Storytelling has been the thread connecting it all.

McCarrel began her career as a newspaper reporter, where she learned to ask questions, listen closely and look beyond the obvious. She still approaches communications much the same way. She believes every institution has a story, but the most important stories are rarely found in a tagline or a set of statistics. They are found in people — in what they experience, what they accomplish and what becomes possible because an institution exists.

That belief shapes how she leads. For McCarrel, communications is not simply about promoting an institution or telling people what happened after decisions have been made. It is about understanding audiences, asking hard questions, anticipating how decisions may be received and helping leaders communicate with clarity and authenticity. At its best, she believes strategic communication can build trust, create connection and help people see a university — or themselves — differently.

Since joining UNCP in 2023, McCarrel has led efforts to strengthen and evolve the university’s brand, expand its visibility and align communications and marketing more closely with enrollment and institutional strategy. Her portfolio includes public and media relations, crisis and executive communications, enrollment marketing, digital and social media, publications, web strategy and the Givens Performing Arts Center.

She is especially drawn to UNCP’s story: a university founded in 1887 by American Indian leaders who understood education as a path to greater opportunity. More than a century later, that belief remains central to UNCP’s mission. 

Before joining UNCP, McCarrel served as executive director of marketing and communication at Eastern Virginia Medical School and held communications leadership roles with Virginia Beach City Public Schools and Norfolk Public Schools. Across more than 18 years in strategic communications and marketing, she has advised senior leaders and governing boards, navigated complex and high-profile issues and helped organizations better understand and communicate who they are.

McCarrel holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Old Dominion University, a Master of Arts in strategic communication from Regent University and the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) credential. An award-winning communicator and writer, she is a native of Brevard, North Carolina. She and her husband, Jesse, have three sons, Elijah, Connor and Lincoln.

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