With 24 campuses throughout Pennsylvania, Penn State is the
largest school in the Pennsylvania state system. It is a leader in higher
education and carries out its mission of teaching, research, and service with
pride and a focus on the future. Academic integrity is a basic guiding
principle for all academic activity at Penn State University, allowing the
pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest, and responsible manner. Penn
State teaches students that the real measure of success is what you do to improve
the lives of others. With that goal in mind, they strive to produce
hard-working leaders with a global perspective and to conduct research to
improve lives. Penn State enrolls over 100,000 students, employs 17,000 faculty
and staff members and has over one-half million active alumni. It boasts the
largest student-run philanthropic
organization on the planet. U.S. News & World Report named Penn State the
No. 1 School for “Best Online Bachelor’s Programs in the Country” and
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance named Penn State as one of the “100 Best Values in
Public Education.”

The Opportunity

The Associate Vice
President for Alumni Relations and Chief Executive Officer of the Penn State
Alumni Association (CEO)
will be an experienced and inspiring individual with a
passion for Penn State and higher education. The successful candidate will
possess the ability to lead a vast and diverse alumni community that is the
largest dues-paying organization of its kind in the world. Reporting
administratively to the Senior Vice President for Development and Alumni
Relations and in an association management
capacity to the volunteer President of the Alumni Association, the CEO will
guide and partner with a network of 315 alumni affiliate groups, thousands of
volunteers, and a staff of more than 55 employees to connect the Alumni
Association’s
177,000-plus members with a broad range of programs, events, and resources.

The CEO will serve
as a powerful ambassador for Penn State and possess the stature and presence to
be a national leader in the field of association management. S/He will engage
and value the Association’s Executive Board and Alumni Council in shaping the
future vision and strategic direction of the Association; develop and pursue
entrepreneurial approaches to increasing Alumni Association membership and
building new revenue streams; oversee and manage all Alumni Association
activities and communications, including the publication of
The Penn Stater,
one of the nation’s mostly highly acclaimed alumni magazines; and collaborate
with leaders in the Office of University Development and the Office of
Strategic Communications to support Penn State’s broader mission and goals. A bachelor’s
degree or higher plus ten years of work-related experience is required; a background
in alumni relations is preferred.