University Relations
April 11, 2008 Communique
College of Business establishes alumni office
In a city of 407,000, a group of 3,000 is large enough to have an economic impact. At least, that’s the plan of Venkat Reddy, dean, College of Business.
“We have over 3000 alumni of the College of Business who live in the Colorado Springs area,” he said. “They may know each other, but most of them don’t know they have the same college in common.”
Almost two years ago, Reddy enlisted the help of local business leaders and UCCS College of Business graduates Steve Bach and Brenda Smith to establish an alumni association for the college. The goal is to create an organization that will help alums build their careers and businesses—and that, ultimately, will benefit the local community.
To help in that goal, he has established a dedicated alumni office and named Jana Hyde to head the office.
“I have been struck by the confident entrepreneurial spirit of the alumni I’ve met,” Hyde said. “With 3,000 of those spirits in the area, this organization can be a powerful force in Colorado Springs.”
Hyde brings over 20 years of marketing and communication experience to the College of Business and holds a doctorate in mass communication from the University of Alabama. Most recently, she managed communications and marketing for The Colorado Springs School.
The active organization grew from 28 people at the first meeting to more than 400 at the August 2007 grand opening of Dwire Hall, the dramatically renovated home of the College of Business.
“The leaders of this alumni association are leaders in this community,” said Bach, who owns Bach Real Estate Partners LLC. “They are well-known as good business people and as experts in their fields.” Danny Mientka of The Equity Group is the current president of the Alumni Leadership Team. Becky Medved, a local entrepreneur and community volunteer leader, will move into that position in July.
The association’s first project is to coordinate CEO roundtable discussions between the dean and local business leaders to learn how the college can help strengthen local industry, make coursework more relevant, and better prepare its students for employment. The first alumni networking event will be May 1.