Purdue Alumni Association chooses new president, CEO

Ralph Amos  Download Photo

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Ralph Amos will be the next president and chief executive officer of the Purdue Alumni Association after a vote Friday (April 15) by the Purdue Alumni Association board of directors.

Amos, who will begin work at Purdue on Monday (April 18), currently serves as vice president of alumni relations for the University System of Maryland Foundation.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ralph to Purdue and looking forward to introducing him to our thousands of loyal alumni,” said Steve Murphy, Alumni Association board vice chair and chair of the search committee. “Ralph is a recognized alumni relations executive with 26 years of experience in institutional advancement and alumni engagement, and we know that expertise will serve him well in this new role at Purdue.”

Leonard Raley, president and CEO of the University System of Maryland Foundation Inc. (USMF), said, “Ralph has brought innovation, vision and leadership that has galvanized our system’s alumni programs to think differently about how to best engage their respective alumni. As one of the leaders in the field, Ralph will bring an incredible level of energy, thought leadership and action to transform Purdue’s alumni program.”

As president and CEO of the Purdue Alumni Association, Amos will report to the association’s board of directors and will lead a staff of 27 individuals in service of Purdue and its more than 440,000 alumni around the world. The Purdue Alumni Association was founded in 1878 and has more than 64,000 members worldwide. As the ninth largest dues-paying alumni association in the nation, Purdue Alumni Association is dedicated to providing all alumni with the programs and services they need to stay connected to Purdue.

“I am honored and delighted to join the Purdue University community. Purdue is an amazing institution and has produced legions of talented and amazing alumni — educators, artists, astronauts, civic leaders, professional athletes, engineers and more,” Amos said. “It is fitting that Purdue Alumni positions itself as the deliverer of contemporary programs, services and content that ensures alumni have the tools and resources to lead even more productive and impactful lives. I look forward to working with Purdue’s leadership to innovate and expand opportunities that meet and exceed alumni expectations and unabashedly increase the connectedness of Boilermakers to their alma mater!”

At Maryland, Amos has been responsible for implementing system-wide initiatives through shared best practices and innovative strategies that strengthen relationships between Maryland’s 12 degree-granting universities and, collectively, its nearly 1 million alumni.

Prior to his role at Maryland, Amos served as assistant vice chancellor of the division of external affairs at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and chief executive officer of the UCLA Alumni Association; assistant vice president of alumni relations at Ohio University; and assistant vice president, membership marketing and constituent societies at Ohio State University.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Amos received his bachelor’s degree in international studies from Ohio State University in 1986. He received a master’s degree in public administration from Ohio University in 2004 and continues to hone his French-speaking abilities. Amos’ personal interests include arts and culture, children’s issues, civil rights and social action, education, environment, human rights, poverty alleviation, and social services. 

Source: Kelly Hiller, Purdue Alumni Association vice president of communications, 765-494-6952, khiller@purdue.edu