Leslie Cedar named director of U. of Texas alumni association
The Daily Texan
June 8, 2011
The Texas Exes appointed its first female CEO and executive director. Leslie Cedar will begin working to expand the organization’s alumni outreach July 1.
Cedar said having a woman serve as executive director was an important step toward furthering the alumni association’s goal of representing the demographics of the University’s graduates.
“As half our students and future alumni are female, I do believe a female in the role is a significant move towards furthering that goal,” Cedar said.
Cedar graduated from the University of Texas with a bachelor’s in architectural studies in 1989 and earned an MBA in 1998 from the McCombs School of Business. She was chosen by a search committee of former presidents of the Texas Exes and current president Richard Leshin.
“[Cedar] will serve as the voice of the alumni with the University and the Board of Regents,” Leshin said. “She’s aware of social media today and can use it to help us communicate with our younger alumni, and hopefully we can get our older alumni to do the same thing.”
Jim Boon, who served as executive director for 16 years, left the position to head the Texas Exes Scholarship Foundation. He said the executive director must manage several key programs, including scholarship organizations, and communicate with alumni from Texas Exes chapters throughout the country.
