Scott takes job working with Mount Olive College alumni
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on July 26, 2011 1:46 PM
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Howard Scott
MOUNT OLIVE -- Howard Scott, recent retiree as Wayne County Cooperative Extension director and a Mount Olive College alumnus, has been named interim director of Alumni Relations at MOC, filling the position held for 38 years by Dianne B. Riley.
Mrs. Riley started at the college in 1973 and over the years served in a variety of roles, including director of admissions. For the past 14 years, she had been director of Alumni Relations, responsible for coordinating events for graduates to stay connected to their alma mater.
She retired in June.
Scott, a 1974 graduate of Mount Olive College when it was a two-year college, retired as extension director in May.
He has served on the MOC board of trustees since 1978, and is taking a leave of absence during the transition period. According to Kevin Jean, vice president for institutional advancement, Scott will serve in the interim role for between 90 and 180 days. During that time, he will prepare a strategic plan for the alumni office, outlining how the position will move forward to serve the needs of the alumni. Among the areas he will focus on are providing outreach opportunities to engage alumni, developing professional group connections in the cities closes to the college's seven established locations in eastern North Carolina and expanding affinity programs. "Howard is really being generous with his time and talents to assist us in this transitional period," Jean said. "It's very important that more alumni become participatory in terms of what we are doing. So we are taking our time to find just the right person that will have ideas and synergy, and who can connect with the Institutional Advancement Office in terms of donor relations.
"We need someone who can be fully engaged with the Alumni Board and recognize that being part of alumni means being part of the college in every component -- working together to meet the mission and vision of this institution throughout the 21st century."
Since graduating from MOC, Scott continued his education at N.C. State University, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees. He worked with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service for 35 years. Throughout his career, he earned numerous awards including the Order of the North Carolina Long Leaf Pine, R.J. Reynolds Award for Outstanding Extension County Program, City of Goldsboro Individual Humanitarian Award and Outstanding Alumni Award from Mount Olive College Alumni Association. Most recently he was inducted into the N.C. 4-H Hall of Fame.
MOC, a private institution sponsored by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists, has locations in Mount Olive, New Bern, Wilmington, Goldsboro, Research Triangle Park, Washington and Jackson-ville.