Payne Named Associate Director for External Affairs for Alumni Association

Jennifer Payne, a University of Southern Mississippi speech communication graduate, has accepted the position of associate director for external affairs with the Southern Miss Alumni Association.

A Pearl, Miss. native, Payne has spent the last three years with Southern Miss serving as the Centennial Celebration Coordinator. In that role, Payne coordinated and facilitated the 2010 Centennial Celebration Events, worked on the production of “Treasured Past, Golden Future: The Centennial History of The University of Southern Mississippi” and managed the 50-person Centennial Steering Committee.

“I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to join the Southern Miss Alumni Association staff. Their support of the Centennial Celebration has been phenomenal and it has been a true pleasure working alongside them for the past three years,” Payne said.

In her new position, Payne's primary responsibilities include, but are not limited to, membership recruitment, tracking and evaluation and managing the Association's development efforts. She will also oversee the Association's field operations, programming initiatives and manage affinity partner relationships and other revenue-generating programs.

“Jennifer has done an outstanding job leading the University's Centennial Celebration. Over the past three years, I've been fortunate to get to know her and see firsthand how well she represents herself and our University,” said Jerry DeFatta, executive director of the Alumni Association. “I'm looking forward to her transition into this new role and am excited about the positive impact she will have on our organization.”

For information about the Southern Miss Alumni Association, online visit: www.usm.edu/alumni