Diane McCarthy was named president of the ASU Alumni Association on Tuesday, filling a position that had been vacant since August.
A 1960 graduate of ASU, McCarthy has served previously as chairwoman of the association. She served in the Arizona House of Repre-sentatives from 1972 to 1980.
McCarthy said the most important thing she brings to the job is "a deep and abiding love of ASU."
ASU president Michael Crow said in a statement released Tuesday that "Diane McCarthy has a long history of achievement in Arizona ... We are delighted that we have been able to enlist her considerable talents in advancing her alma mater."
McCarthy is currently president of Westmarc, a coalition of governmental and educational professionals joined together to influence public policy for West Maricopa County. Crow said McCarthy was responsible for building Westmarc into one of the most effective and influential organizations of its kind anywhere in the nation.
ASU has 255,000 alumni and 45 alumni chapters and clubs throughout the United States. McCarthy said she is planning to meet with the association staff later this week to find out the issues in which they're interested. She said one of her first priorities as president will be to fill the empty positions in the association, which has lost six people this year to higher-paying jobs elsewhere.
The association's previous president Donna Gastevich was named president of the association in early June but did not come to ASU until August. After four days on the job, she submitted her resignation, citing family health reasons.
Reach the reporter at lindsay.butler@asu.edu.
