WKU Alumni Association recognizes retiring Board members

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The Western Kentucky University Alumni Association National Board of Directors recently recognized Board members who completed their terms of service in July 2021.

R. Barkley Payne of Chicago, Ill., a 1986 graduate and Lifetime Member of the WKU Alumni Association, concluded six years of service to the Alumni Association Board of Directors, with three years as a member and the last three as President-Elect, President and Immediate Past President. During his tenure on the Board, Payne served as Chair of the Executive Committee and Governance Sub-Committee, as well as a member of the Finance Committee and the Diversity & Inclusion Council.

Eight Board members, first elected in 2018, ended three-year terms of service:

Mike Alvey of Owensboro, Ky., a 1981 alumnus and Lifetime Member of the WKU Alumni Association, served as Chair of the Investment Committee and a member of both the Executive Committee and the Alumni Achievement Sub-Committee.
Drew Hawkins of Atlanta, Ga., a 2011 alumnus and Lifetime Member of the WKU Alumni Association, was a member of the Communications & Marketing Committee.
Scott Higdon of Bowling Green, Ky., a 1985 alumnus and Lifetime Member of the WKU Alumni Association, served as Chair of the Business Partnerships Sub-Committee and a member of the Membership & Business Development Sub-Committee and the Finance & Membership and Investment committees.
Drew Logsdon of Thompson Station, Tenn., a 2009 alumnus, was a member of both the Communications & Marketing Committee and the Student to Young Alumni Transition Sub-Committee
Jim Schutter of Chicago, Ill., a 1974 alumnus and Lifetime Member of the WKU Alumni Association, served as a member of the Investment Committee and the Finance Sub-Committee.
Dr. Tamela Smith of Bowling Green, Ky., a 1984, 1997, 2001 and 2013 alumna and Lifetime Member of the WKU Alumni Association, was both Chair and Co-Chair of the Engagement Committee, as well as a member of the Executive Committee and Alumni Achievement Sub-Committee.
Dr. Nowelle Altman Sigman of Bowling Green, Ky., a 2013 alumna and Lifetime Member of the WKU Alumni Association, served as a member of the Engagement Committee and the Assessment and Student Engagement & Philanthropy sub-committees.
Deborah Thomas of Nashville, Tenn., a 1982 alumna and Lifetime Member of the WKU Alumni Association, was a member of the Engagement Committee and the Assessment, Diversity & Inclusion, and Regional Engagement & Volunteerism sub-committees.

The Board also recognized two retiring members who served in ex-officio capacities:

Reginald Lane of Bradenton, Fla., a 2010 alumnus and Lifetime Member of the WKU Alumni Association, served as an ex-officio member of the Board as President of the Young Alumni Council.
Taylor-Grace Mingo of Stanford, Ky., a 2021 alumna, served as an ex-officio member of the Board as President of the Student Alumni Ambassadors.

“We appreciate the leadership and guidance each of these alumni provided during their time on the Board of Directors,” said Dr. Anthony McAdoo, Executive Director of the WKU Alumni Association. “Their service during the past year has been particularly meaningful. While the world was adjusting to life during a pandemic, the Alumni Association, with the help of our Board members, had to rethink its business of connecting and engaging alumni in new and innovative ways. We are grateful for the contributions of each of these retiring members and look forward to finding new opportunities to engage them in furthering the mission of WKU.”