Alumni Leaders Excel in Executive Positions

The student characteristics fostered by SIUE’s College of Arts and Sciences, including communication, critical thinking, and problem solving capabilities, enable graduates to successfully take on leadership roles in a variety of professional arenas.  Many CAS alumni are finding that such leadership skills are allowing them to excel in executive positions in a multitude of work environments.

Alumna Becky Gould-Levine works as Account Executive in Service and Fan Relations for the Memphis Grizzlies NBA Professional Basketball Team.

Becky Gould-Levine (B.S. ’00, Speech Communication), for instance, has quickly advanced professionally to become the envy of basketball fans.  In her position as Account Executive in Service and Fan Relations for the Memphis Grizzlies NBA Professional Basketball Team, Gould-Levine works closely with the season ticket base to give it a sense of personal connection with the team.  Providing this sense of connection entails planning events such as the annual season ticket holder party and informing season ticket holders of special offers and inside scoops.

In the mere half-decade since Gould-Levine’s graduation, she has gained tremendous professional knowledge in three different states, including California, Oklahoma, and now, Tennessee.  In California, she worked for the Fresno State Bulldogs Division I Athletic Department as a Marketing Assistant.  “There I learned just about everything that I know from a professional aspect.”  Looking for the next challenge, she moved on to work in the Golden Eagle Athletic Marketing Department at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa as the Assistant Director of Marketing.  “There I worked on a higher level and had much more of a supervisory role.  After two years in Tulsa, I came here to Memphis and now work in the NBA—a place and job that I love.  The NBA is very competitive, so I was very lucky to break in when I did.”

Alumna Dee Joyner serves as Commerce Bank’s senior vice president.

Dee Joyner (B.A. ’71, M.S. ’73, Government) is another SIUE alumna with a successful executive career.  Joyner’s longstanding career has transitioned from the public to the private sector, in which she has spent the last fifteen years at Commerce Bank.  For the past five of those years, she has served as the bank’s senior vice president, maintaining responsibility for the corporation’s Organizational Development and Community Relations for the St. Louis Market.

Prior to her position at Commerce Bank, Joyner worked close to twenty years in the government and nonprofit sector, beginning at the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council and ending as chief of staff to the St. Louis County Executive.  While she was at SIUE, Joyner got her start in the professional workforce as a student worker for the Labor Institute and the Institute for Housing, Renewal and Code Enforcement.  She recalls, “My fondest memories are of assisting with the conferences we put on and driving speakers from the airport to the conference site, thus having an opportunity to learn first hand from some very interesting and successful leaders from around the country.”

Joyner says that her education at SIUE was an invaluable part of her career preparation.  “Quality and accessibility of the faculty played a key role in preparing me for the future.  The opportunity to participate in internships and independent study also exposed me to career options I might not otherwise have considered.”

Drawing from her extensive experience in leadership roles, Joyner advises future potential executives, “Work hard, do the best that you can, volunteer to take on assignments, and don’t worry about who gets credit.  Also, become involved in the community.  It is a wonderful way to give back, to meet people, and to learn new skills.”

Alumnus Mark Showers has served as Monsanto’s CIO since January 2005.

Mark Showers (B.A. ’77, Chemistry and Mathematics), the Chief Information Officer at Monsanto Company, advises students and new graduates “to always continue learning, focus on delivering results in your current job, and be prepared to seize the opportunities that are presented to you as your career progresses.”

Showers began his career as a chemist.  Following his participation in SIUE’s Chemistry department’s Co-Op, or internship, program, he secured a full-time position with the host company, Carboline.  He then went to work for Monsanto after earning his Masters in Physical Chemistry at Washington University.  As his career progressed, Showers went back to school yet again to complete an MBA in the Executive MBA program at Washington University in 1995.  He has served as Monsanto’s CIO since January of 2005.

Showers reflects, “If you choose a career in industry, it is almost impossible to predict your career path.  I would have never guessed when I started my career as a chemist in high performance coatings that I would eventually end up in Information Technology and, even more surprising, as CIO of a major corporation.”

And it was SIUE that got his successful career path started.  “SIUE provided me with a strong fundamental background in mathematics and the sciences that still serves me well today, almost thirty years after graduation.”

Today’s SIUE students are faced with opportunities similar to those available to Showers a generation ago.  Showers notes, “My organization has a very active Co-Op program in information technology and routinely hires SIUE students as Co-Ops and eventually as full time employees.”

Alumnus James Pomeroy works in St. Louis as Vice President-Business Development for Pennsylvania-based Select Medical Corporation.

Another SIUE alumnus to take on an executive role now works for the nation’s largest operator of long-term acute hospitals.  James Pomeroy (B.A. ‘69, Social Work; M.A. ‘75, Sociology) serves as Vice President-Business Development for Select Medical Corporation, which is based in Mechanicsburg, PA but maintains its development division in St. Louis.  He has worked for the company since 1994 but didn’t get involved in the development of specialty hospitals until 1997.

After earning his bachelor’s in Social Work, Pomeroy went to work for the Council on Alcohol and Drugs, a non-profit in Marion, Ohio.  He worked with the council to provide injury prevention programs, which introduced him to representatives of the Insurance Company of North America (now CIGNA Corporation).  The INA eventually hired him to direct their efforts at developing managed mental health services benefit programs, and Pomeroy worked in Philadelphia and New York to help develop Employee Assistance Programs for Fortune 500 Corporations.

Prior to these stepping stones, however, was Pomeroy’s significant experience as a student at SIUE.  He reflects, “As with many students who attended SIUE in the late 1960s, I was actually working full-time in a steel mill since my family could not afford to send me to college.”

The need to balance work and school provided good time management training, and Pomeroy eventually left the steel mill to take on student jobs in both the library and the campus post office.  He notes, “My work in the library gave me access to all the reserved books and a quality education on the use of library resources.  My job in the post office allowed me to interact with faculty on a regular basis…Finally, my classroom instruction provided me with the ability to critically evaluate and initiate change from within an organization.  Unlike many of my peers in the late ‘60s, I was convinced (and remain so) that change comes from within a system.”

Pomeroy says that one of the most profound lessons he has learned is to have persistence and a well thought-out strategy.  “The planning process is one that must ‘anticipate the alligators’ in order to be successful.  Persistence involves working with others objections rather than ‘caving-in’ to expedience.”

Alumnus Donald Rice’s job as a program specialist at the Missouri Arts Council demands the leadership and management skills one needs to succeed in an executive role.

Donald Rice (B.A. ’94, Music Merchandising), a program specialist at the Missouri Arts Council, also advises young people to maintain persistence.  “Don’t give up on your dreams.  It took me eight years to get my first arts/entertainment industry job.  Make contacts with as many people in the industry as possible.  This business is all about relationships.”

While Rice doesn’t hold an executive position in the traditional corporate setting, his duties at the Missouri Arts Council demand the leadership and management abilities one would need to succeed in an executive role.  For the past five years, Rice has worked with the council to plan, coordinate, and manage the operations of the Festivals, Mini Grants, Minority Arts, and Technical Assistance programs.

This involves reviewing program grant applications, writing summary reports on applications received, and participating in the evaluation process.  He also assists applicants with program development and functions as a liaison between the agency and the arts community, review panels, nonprofit organizations, site consultants, advisory committees, and the general public.

In addition to his experience at SIUE, a position as coordinator for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial helped prepare Rice for his current position.  The National Endowment for the Arts played a major role in the celebration, and Rice served as the liaison between two Missouri artists and the NEA.  Rice notes, “It was a major stepping stone, because I was convening meetings all over the state and meeting people across the country.”

Beyond his job at the Missouri Arts Council, Rice applies his leadership skills to a variety of musical endeavors.  He is an active participant in the St. Louis gospel music scene, serving as the drum instructor for West Side Missionary Baptist Church Music Academy and as Minister of Magnification for Liberty Community Worship Center, where he coordinates not only music but every element of arts and entertainment.

No matter what the area of study within the College for Arts and Sciences, CAS graduates are finding their niches and proving that a liberal arts education does prepare students for successful leadership roles in a variety of professional settings.

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