Connie and Gus Kravas Accept Positions at UC Riverside

PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State University Vice President for University
Advancement Connie Kravas and Vice Provost for Student Affairs K. J. “Gus” Kravas have
accepted positions at the University of California, Riverside, effective July 1, 1999.
Connie Kravas, 52, will assume the duties of vice chancellor for university advancement,
overseeing development, alumni relations, communications, legislative relations, new initiatives
and economic development. Gus Kravas has accepted the position of assistant vice chancellor in
student services and enrollment. Both have been employed at WSU since 1971. Connie earned a
doctorate from WSU in educational administration and supervision in 1974.
“Connie and Gus have dedicated their professional careers to serving WSU with distinction
and enthusiasm and are a beloved part of the campus and Pullman communities,” said President
Smith from his home in Seattle, where he is recuperating from surgery. “I know everyone whose
lives have been touched by Gus and Connie will be excited for them as they begin this new
phase of their lives, and will join with me in celebrating the great successes they have had on
behalf of our University and in wishing them well.”
As president of the WSU Foundation, Connie led the university’s first comprehensive
fund-raising effort, Campaign WSU, to which donors contributed more than $275 million for
teaching, research and scholarships at WSU over a seven-year period ending in 1997.
From 1974 to 1980, Connie held positions as assistant/associate professor of education,
assistant director of the Office of Grant and Research Development and associate director of
development. In 1981, she was named executive director of development and president of the
WSU Foundation. In 1991, she was promoted to associate vice president for university
advancement. She was a WSU Woman of the Year in 1996. She received the WSU Alumni
Achievement Award and was promoted to vice president for university advancement in 1997.
Connie earned a master’s degree in sociology at Indiana State University in 1969, and a
bachelor’s degree in English literature from Pacific Lutheran University in 1967.
Gus has served as vice provost for student affairs since 1992. Under his leadership, student
services expanded with the development of the Wellness Program, the Leadership Center, the
Community Service Learning Center, and the growth of the Student Advising and Learning
Center. Student services were also centralized on the Pullman campus with the construction of
the Lighty Student Services Building, completed in 1996.
Gus began his career at WSU as a counseling psychologist in 1971. He served as the
University’s counseling services director for eight years until he was appointed associate vice
provost for student affairs in 1988.
Gus, 57, graduated from Pacific Lutheran University, where he was an all-conference
basketball player. He earned a master’s degree at Indiana State University and a doctorate from
the University of Michigan in 1971.
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