Barry Adams, a proven leader in the alumni relations field, has been chosen as the Houston Alumni Organization’s next president and CEO. Adams, who will begin his new post by April 1, plans to spend much of his initial startup time getting to know the University of Houston community, including the alumni organization’s various constituent associations, clubs and volunteer leaders.

Cheryl Creuzot, chair of the Houston Alumni Organization’s board of directors, said, “We are pleased to have in Barry Adams a seasoned alumni professional who is highly regarded and ready to take the alumni organization to the next level.”

Adams said he is thrilled to take on this new challenge.

“The University of Houston is a rising star among higher education institutions nationwide,” he said. “Its alumni have long been passionate in their own beliefs that the positive experiences in the classroom and on the campus have been instrumental in their own success. Few situations could be more ideal for an alumni professional to be part of.”

Adams has a background in higher education administration that extends across three decades. Adams’ experience, however, has been gleaned exclusively as the executive head of alumni associations for three public institutions – Florida State University, The College of William and Mary, and Ohio University. During those 30 years of directing alumni programs, he has been honored by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) numerous times for overall programming, excellence in publications and special events. Those honors include two Grand Gold recognition awards.

Early in his career, Adams was one of a small group of alumni professionals who established the Council for Alumni Association Executives (CAAE), considered by many to be the premier organization for alumni executives serving major, top-tier universities, and he has served on its executive committee.

Known to be among the most active and outspoken alumni professionals on the subject of alumni association involvement in institutional capital campaigns, Adams has headed four national conferences on the subject for CASE and spoken at regional, statewide and professional seminars and workshops on the importance of a leadership role for associations. He has been a national co-chair for a newcomers institute in his profession, served as a faculty member at several CASE District Conferences, and has independently consulted with several institutions to recommend ways to strengthen their own alumni organizations. His work has included involvement in three major capital campaigns, and he has been directly responsible for planning and executing campaigns for two alumni centers.

In addition to being involved with professional organizations, Adams has been active in community organizations, serving as a charter board member of the Williamsburg Community Health Foundation, a member of the Chamber of Commerce and a board member and fundraising chair of the Humane Society. Involved in local health care delivery, Adams has also served on public relations, development and marketing committees for two community hospitals. Two corporations benefited from his board advisory role for marketing nationally to university alumni.

Adams, a U.S. Navy and Naval Reserve veteran with extensive time in East and Southeast Asia as a cryptology and intelligence specialist, is a 1974 graduate of the Scripts School of Journalism at Ohio University. In 1983, he also received a master of arts in international affairs from Ohio University, concentrating in Southeast Asia studies.

Adams and his wife, Elizabeth MacLeish, are avid travelers, animal enthusiasts, patrons of the arts, sports fans, golfers and photographers. They can be found, often along with their “labradoodle” dog Sydney, enjoying a good book on almost any rainy day.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Joy Wagman at 713.743.9556 or mjwagman@uh.edu.

Joy Wagman
mjwagman@uh.edu