The Office of External Affairs (OEA) represents UNO to external stakeholders and audiences by serving as a liaison and information source for federal, state, and local government officials and agencies as well as community organizations and private industry. OEA leverages support from external organizations, including the UNO International Alumni Association and the UNO Foundations, to maximize the resources dedicated to the University's mission.

The goals of the OEA are to build and maintain a high profile for the University of New Orleans among key decision-makers; to build and maintain support for policies that advance the University’s mission; and to build and maintain support for federal and state initiatives that positively impact public higher education in Louisiana and the nation.

Prior to 2006, UNO maintained separate offices for state government affairs, federal affairs and alumni affairs, each under the supervision of a different vice chancellor. State and federal affairs were consolidated under OEA in 2006, and Alumni Affairs was added to the mix in 2007.

Office of External Affairs achievements:

• Garnered more than $172 million in funding support for UNO since 2006
• Launched the UNO Advocacy Network to connect and inform the UNO Community about legislation affecting UNO and higher education
• Partnered with other institutions to assist Louisiana delegation in securing federal hurricane recovery funding dedicated to affected colleges and universities
• Administered $ 32 million in federal hurricane recovery grants that provided UNO students with campus-wide WiFi access; a new freshman Math lab; software upgrades in the engineering lab; the addition of industry standard composing and editing software for MIDI labs in the music department; and information kiosks that provide instant online access to image databases for use in fine arts instruction; and furnishings for the Cove dining facility and the University Center
• Hosted visit by President Barack Obama that generated $1.2 million worth of media coverage for UNO
• Increased membership in UNO International Alumni Association by 40% since 2007 and engaged members in discipline-specific college recruiting