4/24/98
Assignment editors: Photos of Ralph Amos are available for downloading from the Web at: http://www.ohiou.edu/news/pix/AMOS_AT_PRESS.JPG and http://www.ohiou.edu/news/pix/RALPH_AMOS.JPG . Cutline information appears at the end of this release.
ATHENS, Ohio -- Ralph Amos, an assistant vice president of The Ohio State University Alumni Association Inc., has been named executive director of Alumni Relations at Ohio University effective June 5.
Strong leadership skills and eight years' experience in alumni relations work are qualities that led to Amos' selection, said Leonard Raley, vice president for alumni relations and development at Ohio University. Raley and Ohio University President Robert Glidden announced Amos' appointment Friday at a reception at the university's Konneker Alumni Center.
"Ralph has a high energy level and is very creative," Raley said. "As we begin planning some major initiatives at Ohio University, we're going to need someone who understands how to be innovative, is familiar with applications of new technology and has ideas that will help us communicate more effectively with all of our graduates. Ralph's experience is a good match for our program."
Amos, 35, has worked with the alumni association at Ohio State University since 1990. His responsibilities have included establishing new alumni societies, managing design and production of publications and marketing materials for alumni, and hosting international alumni tours to more than 18 countries.
In his current position as assistant vice president for marketing and alumni societies, Amos is responsible for all membership benefit programs as well as recruitment and retention of alumni association members. When he took over this post in 1996, there were 109,000 association members. By early 1998, membership had risen to a high of 117,000 with an 85 percent retention rate.
Since 1990, he has been a member of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, a national organization of communications, public relations, and fund-raising professionals at colleges, and was recently appointed to serve a three-year term on the organization's Commission on Alumni Relations.
At Ohio University, Amos will lead the university's efforts to engage more than 120,000 alumni around the world through a variety of programs.
"I sense the affinity alumni have for Ohio University will help launch us into new initiatives for the institution," Amos said, adding that he expects the active alumni base for the university to grow in coming years. "I think there are a lot of other alumni from Ohio University who are just waiting to become more involved with the institution."
Amos, a native of Dayton, holds a bachelor's degree in international studies from Ohio State University. That background is a nice match for Ohio University's efforts to expand alumni programming outside the United States, Raley said.
"We currently have 10 international alumni chapters, and we want to make sure we keep those chapters active and, as time permits, we will probably add more chapters as the need arises," Raley said. "Toward that end, we wanted someone who had an appreciation for and an understanding of cultural differences that exist in other parts of the world."
Cutline information: Ralph Amos, the new executive director for alumni relations at Ohio University, was welcomed to his new post at a reception Friday at Konneker Alumni Center. Shown here are (r-l) Ohio University President Robert Glidden, Amos and Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development Leonard Raley.
