FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kate Worster, director of communication, 641-269-3404

August 13, 2007

Hess to Lead Grinnell's Alumni Relations Program

Jim Hess, former executive director in the Office of University Events at The George Washington University, Washington, D.C., has joined Grinnell College as the new director of alumni relations. Hess assumed his new role at Grinnell on June 25, 2007.

"Jim possesses the experience and personal qualities to be a successful leader of our alumni relations programs," says Grinnell College President Russell K. Osgood. "He also brings with him the energy and the experience to put his ideas to work."

After a stint in publishing at G.P. Putnam's Sons in New York, Hess joined The George Washington University in 1989 as scheduling manager at the Cloyd Heck Marvin Center. While working at GW, he completed a B.A. in history begun at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

He advanced steadily in his 17 years at George Washington, assuming the role of assistant director of public functions and major events in 1994. In 1998, he was chosen to serve as director of the Office of Special Events.

In 2000, he was promoted to the position of executive director of the Office of University Events. In this role, he coordinated a variety of events, including Commencement, which is staged on the National Mall in front of more than 25,000 graduates and guests. Many events at George Washington include prominent guests and participants, including President George Bush, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, U.N. Secretary General Koffi Annan, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, and others.

Hess was born in Buffalo, N.Y., and grew up in Knoxville, Tenn. He and his wife, Kirsten, have one daughter, Madeleine, a Labrador retriever, and two cats.

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