I am pleased to inform you that G. Patrick Williams has accepted my offer to serve as the university's vice president for University Relations and executive director of the Foundation for IUP. He will begin work at IUP September 21.

With 31 years of experience in the advancement field, including twenty-four years at the senior administrative level and seventeen of those years in higher education, Mr. Williams brings an outstanding track record in fundraising and foundation board leadership to IUP. I have unconditional confidence in his ability to advance the University Relations Division and IUP's development efforts.

Mr. Williams comes to IUP from his role as senior vice president for development at the Saint Louis (Missouri) Science Center, where he was responsible for the organization's first seven-figure annual gift. He previously served as vice chancellor of university relations at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Foundation from 2000 to 2007. During his tenure there, he set annual fundraising records for seven consecutive years, achieving a 500 percent increase in giving over seven years. He has held a similar position at Lourdes College and Lourdes College Foundation in Sylvania, Ohio. He also has executive experience in health care management companies. He began his career as a finance and fundraising director with the Boy Scouts of America Councils located in Bloomsburg, Wilkes-Barre, and Oakhurst, N.J.

Mr. Williams has a master's degree in Health and Human Services Administration from Misericordia University and a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Kings College. He also has achieved advance certified fundraising executive status from the Association of Fund Raising Executives (AFP), a designation held by only seventy of the 35,000 AFP members.

A reception to welcome Mr. Williams to the IUP and to the Indiana community will be held during the fall semester.

At this time, I want to offer my sincere gratitude to Mrs. Lynn Barger, who served in the role of acting vice president for university relations and acting executive director of the Foundation for IUP for the past four months.

I also want to express my appreciation to Dr. Rhonda Luckey, chair of the vice president for university relations and executive director of the Foundation for IUP search committee, and to all members of the search committee for their excellent and timely work.

Tony Atwater, Ph.D.
President