March 5, 2004
Rueben Mayes named assistant dean of UW Business School
Rueben Mayes, former running back for the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks, will be the new assistant dean of external relations, Business School Dean Yash Gupta announced today. Mayes starts March 8.
With more than seven years of development experience, Mayes was most recently executive director of the President’s Associates Program at Washington State University where he oversaw fundraising and communications with alumni and donors. He earned a bachelor of arts and master’s degree in business administration at WSU.
“Rueben is a key addition to our team as we forge ahead with our ambitious campaign goals that are so essential to the future of our school,” said Gupta. “He’ll be spearheading our fundraising efforts, which are extremely important in this era of cutbacks in financial appropriations by the legislature and increasing reliance on private support.”
In his role as assistant dean of external relations, Mayes will direct all stewardship, alumni relations and communications projects within the Business School.
Named the 1986 National Football League Rookie of the Year and to two pro bowl teams, Mayes is no stranger to excelling in the intensely competitive world of professional sports, which he says has helped provide him with the solid foundation necessary to successfully inspire and lead others in another kind of challenging field: fundraising.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to provide procurement and communication leadership for one of the nation’s top business schools that continues to produce compelling faculty research and bright, enterprising graduates,” said Mayes. “I welcome the opportunity to work with the 36,000 UW Business School alumni on behalf of the dean and our advisory board members.”
Upon retiring from a seven-year professional football career in 1994, Mayes began his career in development as vice president and executive director of Seattle-based CRISTA Ministries, where he designed a state-approved alternative secondary education program.
Added Gupta, “He has a stellar track record for engaging alumni and soliciting support from corporate and individual donors that will help us achieve our goal of raising an additional $85 million entirely from private support to construct a new building.”
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For more information, contact Gupta at (206) 221-5749 or ygupta@u.washington.edu; or Mayes at (206) 543-0304.
