Elise Awwad

Elise Awwad is the Chief Operating Officer of DeVry University. She has oversight of all student operations to ensure a positive and consistent experience for DeVry students and corporate partners. Awwad leads all admissions functions and student support activities, as well as DeVryWorks, DeVry’s corporate partner department, to provide a student centric journey from inquiry to graduation, creating an innovative model of support rooted in DeVry’s principle of Student Care.

With more than 17 years at DeVry, Awwad has held various leadership positions, most recently as vice president of the strategic enrollment department. She started as an admissions advisor and continued taking on various roles of increased responsibility, including leading DeVry’s admissions, student central, training, student central operations, and career services departments.

Previously, Awwad was a quality assurance analyst at Howerton, Dorris, Stone and Lambert law firm. She also served as the chief operating officer and district manager for a family owned franchise, overseeing the daily operations and launching newly franchised locations throughout the Chicagoland area.

Awwad holds a bachelor’s degree in small business management from Southern Illinois University. She also earned an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management, an Executive MBA from the University of Notre Dame, and a certificate in public policy from the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. She is also the founding member of EDGE – DeVry’s women’s affinity group.