Longtime Alumni Association President/CEO to retire

COLUMBUS – Dan L. Heinlen, who helped The Ohio State University Alumni Association, Inc. grow into one of the nation’s strongest and largest alumni organizations, announced today that he will retire this December after three decades as its leader.

“This has been a wonderful opportunity to serve a great university and an extraordinary group of alumni who are an important force in Ohio State’s future,” said Heinlen, 65, in a message that revealed his plans to retire on Dec. 31, 2003. Heinlen has spent 38 years with the Alumni Association, all but eight at its helm.

“I couldn’t feel more at ease with my decision to retire,” he said. “The Alumni Association is strong, relationships on campus are excellent and we have a first-rate staff and an outstanding board of directors. I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family and serving Ohio State and our community in less structured ways.”

The Ohio State University Alumni Association, Inc. is a dues-supported organization of graduates, former students, and friends of Ohio State with more than 123,000 members.

Heinlen was named director of alumni affairs in 1973, a title that later evolved to President/CEO. The organization has more than doubled in membership during his tenure, growing from 60,000 dues-paying members in 1973 to 123,195 today.

Under Heinlen, the Alumni Association has had a steady influence on Ohio State - from facilitating student scholarships through its many clubs and societies to providing service and leadership to all areas of the university.

“Dan Heinlen is known and admired nationwide for his excellence in working with alumni,” Ohio State President Karen Holbrook said. “He is someone I had heard about long before coming to Ohio State.”

She added, “Dan brought to the Alumni Association a combination of organizational leadership and passion for The Ohio State University. As I meet our enthusiastic Buckeye alumni from across the state and around the world, I continue to see Dan’s great influence in their close connection to the university. Dan’s exceptional efforts will benefit Ohio State for years to come.”

Heinlen ushered the Alumni Association into exciting new territory three years ago when the organization moved into its current home, Longaberger Alumni House. The $10-million, state-of-the-art facility serves as the headquarters for an international network of graduates, former students and friends of the university.

“Dan will leave behind a tremendous legacy,” said Dan D. Sandman, chair of the Alumni Association’s board of directors. “His enthusiasm and hard work all these years have made the university stronger in innumerable ways. He has been a leading advocate for alumni work everywhere.”

The Alumni Association will start an immediate nationwide search for Heinlen’s replacement. Plans are to have his successor on board before the end of the year so the new president/CEO can take advantage of Heinlen’s presence before entering the office.

The search committee is comprised of: Thomas J. Moyer, chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court; Thomas A. Waltermire, chairman and CEO of PolyOne Corp. in Avon Lake, Ohio; former state senator Ben E. Espy, a private practice attorney in Columbus; Elaine H. Hairston, chancellor emerita of the Ohio Board of Regents and senior consultant of Academic Search Consultation Service in Washington, D.C.; James F. Patterson, chair of the university’s board of trustees; and Sandman, vice chairman and chief legal and administrative officer of U.S. Steel Corp. in Pittsburgh.

Search firm Spencer Stuart has been engaged by the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors to conduct the search. All interested applicants are encouraged to contact Jed Hughes at Spencer Stuart either in writing at 525 Market St., Suite 3700, San Francisco, Calif. 94105 or at www.spencerstuart.com

“What we are looking for in our next leader,” Sandman said, “is someone who can build on our record of advancing higher education and advocacy for Ohio State, while leading organized alumni to a new and even greater level of service.”

Heinlen, who earned a bachelor’s degree in social welfare from Ohio State in 1960, began his Alumni Association career in 1965 as field director for alumni clubs and societies. He spent five years as the associate director of alumni affairs before his appointment as director in December 1973.

Besides President/CEO, Heinlen is also secretary of the Association’s Board of Directors, the Alumni Advisory Council, the Ohio State Student Loan Foundation, Inc. and publisher of Ohio State Alumni Magazine.

Heinlen serves ex-officio as a member of The Ohio State University Foundation Board, the University Trustees’ Government Affairs and Outreach and Engagement committees, and sits on the Academy for Distinguished Teaching’s Executive Council.
He has also been a member of three university presidential search committees (E. Gordon Gee, William E. Kirwan and Holbrook).

Heinlen has served as chair of CASE (the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, in Washington), is a founding member and past president of CAAE (the Council of Alumni Association Executives) and was the first non-academic member to serve as president of the Ohio State University Faculty Club Board of Control.

In addition to his work in higher education, Heinlen has had many civic involvements. He is the former president of the Rotary Club of Columbus, was chair of University ProNet Inc. in Palo Alto, Calif., and has had significant involvement with the University Club of Columbus and the River Road Hotel Corporation. Presently, Heinlen is secretary of Kit Kat of Columbus, an essay and discussion group founded in 1911.

He and his wife, Gelene, were married in 1977. They have three daughters: Kate Isler, who graduated from Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine; Stephanie, a graduate of LSU’s College of Medicine and a radiology fellow in Cincinnati; and Amy, who graduated from Ohio State in June 2001 with a degree in English.