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Alan Walker picked to lead Iowa university

May 10, 2004

KALAMAZOO--Dr. Alan G. Walker, vice provost for Extended University Programs at Western Michigan University, has been named the president of Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa. He will take office at UIU July 1.

Walker, who has been in his current position at WMU since July 2000, replaces Dr. Ralph McKay, president of UIU since 1994, who retired in August 2003.

"The board of trustees is very pleased that Dr. Walker has accepted the position as the 20th president of UIU," said Howard Fischer, president of the university's board of trustees, in announcing the appointment. "The entire university community will be the beneficiary of his experience and enthusiasm."

Founded in 1854, UIU is the largest private college in Iowa. The four-year, liberal arts institution offers degree programs to more than 700 on-campus students and to over 4,700 students at satellite centers in Iowa, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Kansas and Texas, as well as graduate, and independent study students. The university also has five international study sites.

"I found Upper Iowa University attractive, because it is an ascending institution and the kind of university where a president can have personal relationships at all levels of the academy, which, by the way, is exactly what I discovered students find attractive about UIU," said Walker.

Media contact: Cheryl Roland, 269 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu

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