Penn State Intercom......August 15, 2002
Husband, wife administrators
announce retirement plans 
Two key positions at the University will open simultaneously next year when the husband-wife team of Jim and Diane Ryan retires.
Jim Ryan, vice president for outreach and cooperative extension, and Diane Ryan, executive director of the Alumni Association, have announced that they both plan to retire from the University in the summer of 2003.
"These leadership positions, in both the Alumni Association and outreach and cooperative extension, are the most exciting in the country and demand extraordinary commitment and energy," the Ryans said. "We are at the point in our lives where we want time to explore our own interests and personal development while we're still healthy ... and have each other. We can't do that and do justice to these critical positions. We both feel extremely fortunate to have had these roles with Penn State and we're proud to hand them over to those who will follow and continue the tradition of leadership and innovation."
President Graham B. Spanier praised the Ryans for their many accomplishments and for their great loyalty to the University.
"Jim and Diane have led two of the most important areas of the University during times of tremendous growth and innovation," Spanier said. "Their accomplishments have been extraordinary and have established both of them as national leaders in their respective areas of higher education. Jim and Diane have been friends to literally thousands of Penn Staters. Their energy, loyalty and commitment will be very hard to replace."
Founded in 1870, the Alumni Association is the largest dues-paying association in the nation with more than 146,000 members worldwide. It has been during Diane Ryan's service to the association that large gains in membership were realized, including nearly a 10 percent increase in life members. This gain in life membership has allowed the association to establish the largest life member endowment in the country.
She also has led the association in accomplishing its mission of "connecting alumni to the University and each other" through a variety of programs and services, including: alumni career services; continuing education opportunities through alumni outreach; Lion Ambassadors; the Blue and White Society; LionLink; FastStart; and the Penn State Travel Program.
Last year, she guided the move of the Alumni Association into a new home the Hintz Family Alumni Center located at the heart of the University Park campus. The center, attached to University House, which was the president's residence from 1864-1970, is a "home-away-from-home" for alumni and the site of numerous special events on campus.
Under her leadership, The Penn Stater magazine, the association's flagship publication, has garnered 30 regional and national awards for its writing and design, placing it among the most respected and modeled alumni publications in the country.
The organization has been unique for its history of giving. During her tenure, the Alumni Association has donated and pledged more than $10 million to the University for various campus programs, improvements and events. The association annually supports many campus entities and functions including intercollegiate athletics, Dance Marathon, homecoming and student recruitment efforts through the admissions office. Additionally, the association contributes to University-wide scholarship funds.
Diane Ryan was appointed executive director of the Alumni Association in 1997, a position that works closely with its president, executive board and alumni council in administering the association's services and programs. She first joined the University in 1980 at Penn State Wilkes-Barre in the office of student affairs, and became the coordinator for the division of undergraduate studies as well as all academic advising and personal and career counseling for the campus.
Outreach and cooperative extension, which was reorganized under Jim Ryan's leadership in 1996, is the largest unified outreach organization in American higher education. The organization serves more than 5 million people from all 50 states and 80 countries at 500 locations annually. With more than 800 employees, this organization supports all academic colleges, campuses, centers and cooperative extension offices. Each year, more than 2,000 programs and services are offered in collaboration with 1,500 faculty members through the University's outreach delivery units, including continuing education, cooperative extension, distance education/World Campus and Penn State Public Broadcasting.
During his 12 years of leadership, Ryan has guided the creation of the World Campus, the addition of public radio, the expansion of The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel and the development of a major partnership with cooperative extension. In that same time, programs, enrollments and participation have grown dramatically, and outreach and cooperative extension has won numerous awards for innovation from state and national organizations. It is considered a national model.
Ryan also received the International Futures Award for exceptional and innovative leadership in continuing higher education from the University Continuing Education Association. He has been active in many national, community and University organizations where he has served in leadership positions. Such positions include chair of the University's Web Task Force, chair of the Centre County United Way, member of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and member of the Board of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges.
Before his current appointment, Ryan served as a campus executive officer at the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus for nine years. He also has held various administrative and faculty positions in academic affairs, institutional advancement and college student personnel with Indiana University and at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Searches will begin immediately for both positions.