WESTERMAN STEPS DOWN AS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Fellow university community members,

For some time now, Scott and I have been talking about his desire to step down from his position as the executive director of the Alumni Association so he could spend more time with his family. In recent weeks, we had been working on the details of that transition, including the timing. As a result of this work, I accepted his letter of resignation on Monday, April 16. 

While Scott was informing his staff of his decision to resign Tuesday morning, the Detroit Free Press ran a story about his departure. The story included this statement from Scott:

"I was recently surprised to learn that I am the subject of an OIE inquiry. It covers a brief period near the start of my tenure, is not a police matter, and naturally, I am fully cooperating with investigators. I won’t have further comment until their work is complete. With regard to our departure, we have been planning to return to Florida for some time. The inquiry was not a factor in that decision."

I’ve asked Bob Thomas to serve as interim executive director of the MSU Alumni Association. Bob, a two-time alumnus himself, joined the university in 1998. For the past 14 years he has served as a member of the University Development, and now the University Advancement, executive leadership team. In his current role as assistant vice president for Advancement Marketing & Communications, Bob has direct responsibility for all aspects of Communications & Marketing, Annual Giving, Stewardship, Web Services and Alumni and Donor Relations in the University Advancement office. Since the creation of University Advancement in 2008, his team has worked closely with the MSU Alumni Association staff to support their activities.

During Scott’s more than eight years as associate vice president for alumni relations and executive director of the MSU Alumni Association, his team has transformed the definition of alumni relations and interacted with tens of thousands of alumni along the way. Please be assured that the strong team at the MSU Alumni Association will continue to carry out this work under Bob Thomas as we undertake a national search for a new executive director as soon as possible. 

I would like to thank Scott for his dedication and service to his alma mater.

Bob Groves
Vice President, University Advancement
Michigan State University