Stephen F. Austin State University

NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- Stephen F. Austin State University President Dr. Baker Pattillo today named Jeff H. Davis, director of development for Alumni Affairs, as interim director of Alumni Affairs. The appointment is effective immediately.

Davis will oversee daily operations in Alumni Affairs until a permanent leader is chosen. A committee composed of university representatives and members of the Alumni Association Board of Directors will be named in the near future to conduct a national search.

“As an SFA graduate, Mr. Davis has an essential experience to serve as the interim director of Alumni Affairs – he’s a Lumberjack who understands Lumberjacks,” said President Pattillo. “His accomplishments as a student leader and the professional skills gained since he graduated from SFA make him a natural choice.”

Alumni Association Board of Directors President Shirley Crawford said Davis earned a unanimous recommendation from the Alumni Association board in an e-mail ballot distributed to the members.

“The board wholeheartedly supports the appointment of Mr. Davis as interim director,” Crawford said.

Davis joined Alumni Affairs as director of development in February 2006. He supervises alumni fundraising, scholarships and membership solicitations. He also oversees programs that provide credit card, insurance and travel club services to Alumni Association members. In addition, he is an instructor in SFA 101, a credit course that provides freshman students with a solid foundation for academic success at SFA and background on university traditions.

“I’m excited and honored to serve as interim director, and I am blessed to be able to work with the incredibly talented staff in the Alumni Office every day. Davis said. “I love to deal with people, and I enjoy connecting with other Lumberjacks who have had similar experiences.”

The shortest of three brothers, Davis stands 6-feet, 9-inches and was a walk-on player for the Lumberjack basketball team during the 1998-99 season. The Clear Lake, Texas, native was president of Tau Kappa Epsilon and the Interfraternity Council.

Davis earned a bachelor of business administration degree from SFA in 2002 and a master of business administration degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2005.

As a student coordinator of SFA’s orientation program from 2000 to 2003, he was responsible for recruitment, selection and training of student leaders in the orientation program and facilitated training sessions and teambuilding activities.

In 2003, Davis joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham as assistant director of new student orientation. In addition to recruiting and preparing student leaders to present orientation programs for new students, Davis assisted with the Parents Association and Parents Council and was events facilitator and editor of the Parents Association newsletter.

Davis is married to Jennifer Watts Davis, a 2003 SFA graduate. Jennifer, the former president of Zeta Tau Alpha, now is an SFA counseling and career services outreach coordinator.