This past January, Beth Wheeler \u201977, retired as director of external relations and Ann Pearce was named as her replacement.<\/p>\n
Beth Wheeler <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Beth became Western\u2019s director of external relations in 2001. In this role, she served as the university\u2019s liaison with local, regional, state and national elected officials and was a part of the president\u2019s cabinet. She also worked closely with Dr. Vartabedian on special projects.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWorking for my alma mater has been satisfying,\u201d Wheeler said. \u201cI have been fortunate to collaborate with Western staff, faculty, administrators, retirees, students, alumni and advocates while here, and appreciate my experiences with each of them. These external relationships are critical to Western\u2019s continued success, and manifest the philosophy that \u2018the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.\u2019 I am grateful for the mentoring of colleagues, including Presidents Janet Murphy, Jim McCarthy, Jim Scanlon and Bob Vartabedian. I am proud to have been associated with Western and look forward to its thriving into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Beth is a native of Jameson, Mo. She earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in recreation and leisure studies from Western and her master\u2019s degree in recreation and leisure studies from the University of Central Missouri in 1979.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBeth worked diligently to promote Western, often behind the scenes,\u201d said Dr. Vartabedian. \u201cShe has been an invaluable resource to many of us in our work on campus and in Jefferson City. She will be greatly missed.\u201d<\/p>\n Ann Pearce<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ann, whose title is special assistant to the president, is serving on Dr. Robert Vartabedian\u2019s cabinet and is responsible for building and sustaining strong relationships with local, state and federal decision-makers to advance the university\u2019s strategic goals.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 She worked for her alma mater, the University of Central Missouri, for 25 years, starting in the office of public relations and serving the last seven years of her tenure as the president\u2019s chief of staff. In that position, Ann served as UCM\u2019s liaison to the statewide higher education community, including the Missouri Department of Higher Education, the Coordinating Board for Higher Education and the Council on Public Higher Education. She also was a registered state lobbyist, working closely with state lawmakers and other officials to further UCM\u2019s legislative agenda, and worked with Missouri\u2019s congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., to secure federal appropriations.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAnn is a great addition to the Western family,\u201d said Dr. Vartabedian. \u201cShe has been a highly respected member of Missouri\u2019s higher education community for years, and will effectively represent us in the community and among state leaders in Jefferson City.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prior to her time as chief of staff, Ann served as UCM\u2019s director of communication and creative services, assistant director of public relations, editor and projects manager and news bureau manager. She has also worked in both the print and broadcast media, as well as the photography industry.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ann earned her bachelor of science degree in mass communication\/broadcasting and film from UCM, and has received advanced professional development through summer institutes in communication at the University of Notre\u00a0Dame, and in executive management at the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHaving worked in Missouri higher education for so many years, I am very familiar with Missouri Western\u2019s dedication to its academic mission, as well as to its commitment to student success,\u201d Ann said. \u201cThose were crucial elements when I considered applying for this position, and I am honored to be selected as special assistant to the president.\u201d<\/p>\n -end-<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This past January, Beth Wheeler \u201977, retired as director of external relations and Ann Pearce was named as her replacement. Beth Wheeler \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Beth became Western\u2019s director of external relations in 2001. In this role, she served as the university\u2019s liaison with local, regional, state and national elected officials and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3786"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3786"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4107,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3786\/revisions\/4107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}