6-28-99

Contacts:
Ben Allen, Business, (515) 294-2422
Steve Sullivan, News Service, (515) 294-3720

IOWA STATE NAMES ALUMNI DIRECTOR CANDIDATES

AMES, Iowa -- Three candidates have been named for the position of executive director of the alumni association at Iowa State University.

The candidates are Bradford Beets, alumni association executive director, Wichita State University, Kansas; Robert Davies, executive director of the alumni association and director of alumni relations, Boise State University, Idaho; and Jeffery Johnson, vice president of alumni relations, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Each candidate will visit campus for a day in the next two weeks. Their visits will include an open forum, at which each will talk briefly about his experience and views on key issues facing university alumni associations in the next five to 10 years, and respond to questions. The visits and open forums are scheduled as follows:

Johnson: Wednesday, June 30, 4:10-5 p.m., Memorial Union Gold Room

Davies: Thursday, July 8, 4:10-5 p.m., Memorial Union Gold Room

Beets: Friday, July 9, 3:15-4:05 p.m., Memorial Union Oak Room

The executive director of the alumni association serves as a representative of the university and the ISU Alumni Association. The executive director also oversees Iowa State's alumni programming, events and communications, strategic plan and budget. The executive director also coordinates relationships with the university's faculty and individual college alumni representatives.

Jim Hopson, executive director of the alumni association since 1979, retires from the position at the end of this month. Hopson joined the association staff in 1968.

Bradford Beets has been executive director of Wichita State University Alumni Association since 1997. He also served as assistant director of the Wichita State University Alumni Association from 1988 to 1991. He was vice president of the Kansas State University Alumni Association from 1995 to 1997 and director of alumni clubs for Kansas State University Alumni Association from 1991 to 1995. He received a B.S. in marketing from Wichita State University (1987).

Robert Davies has been executive director of the alumni association and director of alumni relations at Boise State University since 1995. He was director of annual giving and assistant director of alumni relations at the University of Nevada, Reno, from 1992 to 1995. He received a master's in business administration from the University of Oregon (1991), and a B.S. in management from University of Nevada (1989).

Jeffery Johnson has been with the University of Illinois Alumni Association since 1996, when he was hired as director of alumni relations. He was named vice president of alumni relations in March 1999. Prior to this, Johnson was with the Kansas University Alumni Association, University of Kansas, Lawrence, for many years. He served as director of membership development in 1991, director of external affairs and membership development from 1991 to 1993, and senior vice president of external affairs and membership from 1993 to 1996. Johnson also held several positions at the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, including assistant to the executive director of alumni relations. He earned a master's of higher education administration from the University of Kansas (1995), and a B.S. in computer science from the University of Southern Mississippi (1986).

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Revised 6/28/99