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New president plans to update alumni program

The newly appointed Houston Alumni Organization President Barry Adams said he hopes to put his public relations and marketing skills to good use and modernize HAO’s communication department.

"I want to make sure we’re as modernized and able to communicate UH events to Houston as possible," Adams said. "I also want to modernize the HAO magazine (Alumline). I will be talking with graduating seniors and new alumni to find out what they expect of their organization."

Adams, who was announced as the next HAO president Feb. 12, will begin his term in April. He is succeeding Steve Hall as president and will be moving to Houston from his home in Tallahassee, Fla.

Adams, a journalism graduate of the Scripps School of Journalism in 1974, has worked in public relations and marketing. He has also served on the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, a society that promotes and markets awareness of university programs and alumni organizations, where he received special merits for his service and writing for the CASE magazine Currents.

Adams said he wants to create a more dynamic communication department to better spread the word around campus and Houston of the many programs HAO participates in and presents.

"Jobs like this don’t come around ever so often," Adams said. "This is the perfect combination of having a great job and a terrific university in a great city to live."

Adams’ experience in working with university alumni organizations started when he was the executive director of the alumni organization of his alma mater, Ohio University for his service. He earned several merits, including a scholarship that was established in his name in 1987. Adams, however, said he did not mean to make his career in working with alumni organizations.

"I was a public information officer for the State of Ohio before joining the Ohio alumni (organization)," Adams said. "So I left Ohio University and came back. I didn’t expect it to happen, but it became one of the most rewarding experiences of my life."

Adams has not stopped since. Along with working with the Ohio University alumni association, he served as executive vice president of the William and Mary Alumni Association of Williamsburg, Va. He received awards for his services, including the Hulon Willis Association Impact Award in 2004, which was presented to him by the African-American alumni organization.

He said his arguably most challenging experience with an alumni organization was with the Florida State University Alumni Association, where he served as president from 2004 to 2007. There, he created the first marketing and membership department, developed the first alumni programs department and revamped the organization’s Web site.

"Just like in journalism, where you have a bunch of different editors – well, in the alumni associations, you have a lot of bosses who all have their own ways of running a business, but I find building an organization is better than being a part of the perfect alumni association," he said. "I’ve seen just about every kind of situation. I welcome challenge."

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