CONTACT:
B.J. Schneck (wschneck@greenville.edu)
Assistant Director of Public Relations
Greenville College
(618) 664-6621

Alex Schmidt Joins Greenville College as Director of Alumni and Church Relations

GREENVILLE, Ill. - Greenville College has announced the hiring of former Greenville resident Alex Schmidt as the institution's next director of alumni and church relations. Although not beginning in a full-time role until March, he presently works part-time on a variety of projects.

"We are excited about Alex's talent and ability, and we welcome him and his family to our community," said vice president for college advancement David Hoag. "We are looking forward to seeing him accomplish many wonderful things."

At Greenville College, the director of alumni and church relations is responsible for activities pertaining to the alumni program as advised by the alumni board of directors and the alumni association at large. The director seeks to serve all alumni and to bring them into a closer relationship with Greenville College.

Responsibilities also include broadening the base of alumni support in the areas of student recruitment, financial giving, special events, church relations, and travel programs.

"Greenville College has been a part of my life for 15 years, and I wholeheartedly believe in the mission of the school," said Schmidt. His parents, Kenneth and Sandra Schmidt, have served as members of the teaching faculty at Greenville College since 1987.

"I've seen the positive impact that GC can have on its students, and I am anxious to be a part of that in any way I can," he commented. "I am proud to be a graduate of GC and of the education I received there - both academically and spiritually. I hope I can instill that same sense of pride in the current students and rekindle those feelings in the alumni of Greenville College."

In addition to his family connection to Greenville College, Schmidt has background in the alumni office, having worked in the department as a high school and college student for John Strahl, Susan Chism, and Brian Ellis.

"Alex has a lot of enthusiasm and a great loyalty for Greenville College," said Strahl. "These traits are basic to working in the advancement and alumni offices and will serve him well."

Schmidt is a 1996 graduate of Greenville College, earning a bachelor of arts degree in business management, Spanish, and English. While enrolled at GC, he was the student association president, sports editor of the Papyrus, and a member of the men's soccer team and a cappella choir.

Upon graduating from GC, Schmidt attended law school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, receiving his juris doctorate in May 1999. During this time, he was selected for the Frederick Green Moot Court Board and received honors distinctions in introduction to advocacy and legal research and writing.

In 1998 and 1999, he was a summer associate at Husch and Eppenberger in Peoria, Ill., and Foley and Lardner in Chicago, respectively, before joining Foley and Lardner as a litigation associate in August 1999.

Since July 2000, Schmidt has been a litigation associate for Barack Ferrazzano Perlman & Nagelberg in Chicago.

Born and raised until 1987 on the island of Puerto Rico, he and his wife, Melissa, have two daughters, Emma and Isabel.

Greenville College is a four-year accredited Christian liberal arts school with more than 1,200 traditional undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree completion students. Founded in 1892 and affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, the college is located in Greenville, Ill., 45 miles east of St. Louis.

Last updated: January 28, 2003