Last modified: Thursday, April 27, 2006
Beckley to leave IU Alumni Association post in January 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University Alumni Association President and Chief Executive Officer Ken Beckley has announced his departure from the organization, effective Jan. 31, 2007, the end of a five-year commitment he made to head IUAA.
Beckley joined the IU Alumni Association in January 2002 after an extensive search by then-IU President Myles Brand and a unanimous recommendation by the search committee. Beckley brought to the organization more than 30 years of volunteer service to IU, including four years on the IUAA national board of managers and one year as chairman of the board.
Having accomplished much of what he sought to achieve with the association, Beckley said it is time for a new chapter -- for IUAA and for himself.
"I absolutely love the job, and I cannot imagine a busier one," said Beckley, who earned a bachelor's degree from IU in 1962. "But after the achievements we have made the first four years, I feel the timing is perfect to step down. I owe it to my wife, Audrey (Hofelich), and to myself, because we have so many things we want to do in life without the commitment to full-time employment."
IUAA initiatives addressed under Beckley's leadership include the redesign of the Indiana Alumni Magazine, which earned the publication Best Alumni Magazine honors from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education District V; the enhancement of the association's e-communications program and the Alumni Data Center; the establishment of student alumni associations on all eight IU campuses; selling the property Shawnee Bluffs, which had been an IUAA family camp in the 1980s and 1990s; and turning over management and financial responsibility of Camp Brosius to the IUPUI School of Physical Education and Tourism Management.
The initiative that perhaps will most greatly benefit the association in the future was the establishment of the Jerry F. Tardy Operating Endowment, named in honor of Beckley's predecessor at IUAA. The two-year campaign raised more than $8 million in gifts and pledges. Funds from the operating endowment will be used to support the association's programs and services.
In addition to his work with the Alumni Association, Beckley served on the search committee for a new IU president in 2003 and chaired the search for a new athletics director the following year.
This summer, IU President Adam W. Herbert will appoint a committee to conduct a national search for Beckley's successor, with a goal of having the new candidate on board in January.
