Ryan Appointed Executive Director Of Alumni Association

5-15-97
University Park, Pa.-Diane K. Ryan has been named executive director of the Penn State Alumni Association, June 1 1997. She will report to the vice president for development and alumni relations, and work closely with the Association's president, Executive Board, and Alumni Council in administering the Association's services and programs.

As executive director, Ryan will provide leadership for the Penn State Alumni Association, which has a membership of 140,000 and is the largest dues-paying organization of its kind in the nation. She will direct the alumni services and programs at Penn State, and lead an Association staff of 47 people.

"We are very pleased that Diane has accepted this position. She has been a member of the Penn State family for 17 years," said Rodney P. Kirsch, vice president for development and alumni relations. "Her hands-on experience in staff and volunteer management, coupled with the creativity and vision she brings to the future of the Association, are outstanding."

Ryan has led the external relations team of the Alumni Association for the past seven years: As assistant executive director for special programs from 1990 to 1995, she initiated the Association's reorganization of its former "club" system into a comprehensive network of chapters, college and campus societies, and alumni interest groups. From 1995 to 1996, she held the position of associate director of alumni programs, and for the past year also served as interim director of alumni programs.

Ryan's career at Penn State, however, reaches back to 1980 when she was appointed assistant to the dean of student affairs at Penn State Wilkes-Barre. In this position, she was responsible for overseeing and developing student activities, clubs, organizations, and cultural programs. From 1981-90, Ryan held the position of director for the Center for Individual Development and coordinator of advising and counseling at Penn State Wilkes-Barre. She administered the Division of Undergraduate Studies academic enrollment program, and designed and implemented the first advising-counseling center in the Commonwealth Education System, which provided integrated services for day and evening students, as well as alumni.

"Diane embodies a kind of spirit that will take the Alumni Association to the next level of achievement," said Thomas Hollander, president of the Alumni Association. "Her sensitivity, interpersonal skills, dynamism, and experience are perfectly suited to leading the Association from its present position as one of the best in the nation to even greater achievements in service to our alumni."

Ryan holds a B.S. in elementary education from Shippensburg University, a M.Ed. in counselor education from West Chester University, and a Secondary Counselor Certification from Penn State.

*njm*

Contacts: Nick McCarthy (814) 863-4512 (office) njm9@psu.edu
Mike Bezilla (814) 863-4512 (office) (814) 238-5842 (home) mxb13@psu.edu