New Director of Alumni Affairs and University Events Appointed

Following an extensive candidate search and interview process, Mark
E. Delos Reyes Davis of Northern Arizona University (NAU) at Flagstaff has been named director of alumni affairs and university events for Rice and also will serve as executive director of the Association of Rice Alumni (ARA). Mark currently holds similar positions at NAU.

“We narrowed a large field of candidates, including a number of Rice alumni, to three,” said Rachel Deskin ’83, past president of the ARA and chair of the search committee. “Mark was clearly our first choice with his outstanding history at NAU. The job he has performed there is impressive, innovative, and effective—exactly what we need.”

In this position, Mark will create and implement programs and activities to further develop and cultivate relationships between Rice University and its alumni and also coordinate the involvement of the volunteer board of the ARA with the university.

“I am extremely excited about having Mark join Rice,” noted Carl Isgren ’61, a member of the search committee. “He has demonstrated his ability while significantly improving the NAU Alumni Association by doing many of the things we plan to do with the ARA. I expect that he will take our alumni association to new heights to become one of the very best in the nation.”

The nine-member search committee, composed of six alumni and three senior members of Rice’s faculty and staff, reviewed more than 150 applications for the position. Nearly one-third of the applications were received from Rice alumni. Nine candidates were brought in for first-round interviews, with three returning for comprehensive interviews across campus and with President Malcolm Gillis. Although preference had been placed on finding the best candidate from among the Rice alumni applicants, Mark’s talents and extensive experience were the determining factors for his selection. Mark, who is 28, is the same age that Scott Biddy was when he became the first alumni director in 1992.

Mark begins his new position at Rice on December 9. He will visit campus on earlier occasions and attended Homecoming 2002.