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Bailey named alumni engagement director
Mike Ross, ’77
President of the Franklin County Area Development Corporation Home: Chambersburg. Profession: I am president of the Franklin County Area Development Corporation. I am responsible for the retention and expansion of existing businesses and the attraction and start-up of new businesses. Since assuming the position in 1986, I have been involved with nearly 700 projects that have resulted in more than $1.5 billion of capital investment and the creation/retention of more than 40,000 jobs. For nearly 20 years, my wife Donna Ross, ’77, has taught preschool at Apple Place Nursery School. Hobbies: We enjoy traveling, reading, kayaking and spending lots of time with our two grandchildren. Great accomplishment: Professionally, I was named the 2009 Economic Developer of the Year by the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association and am a past recipient of the President’s Award and Member of the Year by the Northeastern Economic Developers Association, whose membership extends from Maryland to Maine. Personally, our greatest accomplishment is having raised three daughters, each of whom has graduated from college and has returned and is contributing to the community. Why I give: Slippery Rock University was the right place at the right time for us. It is the place where we met and created great memories. SRU provided the foundation for each of us to grow personally and professionally, and we want to provide the same opportunity to current and future students. We sponsor the L. Michael and Donna Ross Scholarship to provide an annual scholarship to an elementary education major. 38 38
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Kelly Bailey has been named the new director of alumni engagement. The position, formerly director of alumni relations, was enhanced to acknowledge the University’s increased efforts to provide more avenues for alumni involvement, particularly in the area of young alumni development and constituency programming. Bailey joins the University from Thiel College where she served for five years as the director of annual giving and parent relations. “Kelly is a terrific addition to the Office of Alumni Engagement and will bring new energy and excellent skills to take our program to the next level,” said Barbara Ender, vice president for university advancement. “One of my goals is to create programs that add value, helping all of our alumni to understand the importance of staying connected with the University,” she said. Bailey received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Mary Washington College in 2001 and her master’s degree in public policy and management from the University of Pittsburgh in 2008. Her husband, Jonathan, ’96, and father, Brice Turcic, ’87, are proud SRU alumni.
Samantha Swift leads SRU Foundation Development Samantha Swift has been named director of development of the Slippery Rock University Foundation. A Butler native and daughter of alumnus James Swift, ’67, she is excited to join the SRU community. “I am so pleased to have the opportunity to advance the development program at the University,” she said. “The fall has been full of wonderful events that have assisted me in acquainting myself with the University, its alumni, and best of all, the students. There are many great success stories, and I am greatly impressed with how Slippery Rock University has evolved.” Swift is responsible for the organization and implementation of a comprehensive development program for raising private gifts to support the University’s priorities. “I look forward to increasing support for scholarships – something that is increasingly important as students face the financial burdens associated with a college education,” she said. Swift began her career at Chatham University as an admissions counselor in 1993 and eventually moved to director of undergraduate admissions in 1998. Swift earned a bachelor’s degree in English from The Pennsylvania State University in 1991 and certification in secondary English education from Chatham in 1992.