Andrew “A.J.” Fox, ’09, ’10, Maryville’s new director of alumni relations, is no stranger to building community on campus. In fact, he took on his first project connecting future alumni to the University as a student in 2009.

With the support of President Mark Lombardi, PhD, Fox created the class gift project in which graduating students make individual gifts and in return a brick is engraved with their name and degree. The bricks are set in a walkway across campus as a lasting legacy.

“The idea was to give students a physical and philanthropic connection to Maryville,” says Fox. Nine years later, the class gift has grown into a beloved tradition.

Fox’s personal ties to the Maryville community go back decades. His father, John Fox, attended evening and weekend classes at Maryville, graduating in 1990. “That flexibility allowed him to graduate with a four-year degree while staying ahead in the IT field,” Fox says.

When it came time for Fox to pick a college of his own, his father helped him fill out Maryville’s application.

“I had the feeling that this was a place where your college experience and education could be of your own making,” Fox says.

He graduated with a bachelor’s in business management and an MBA. And in 2009, Fox and his now-wife, Amanda Fox, were crowned Fall Festival King and Queen.

But his Maryville story doesn’t end there. After graduation, Fox served on the Alumni Board while working in government
in Jefferson City, Missouri.

As a newcomer to the role of alumni relations director, Fox says his campus roots helped him to understand the foundations of the Maryville community and hit the ground running. Fox plans to focus his energy on traveling to establish meaningful connections with alumni and to reimagine ways to engage alumni based on their interests and motivations.

“The alumni office is reconnecting with Maryville alumni around the country and throughout the world,” says Fox. “As I meet and talk with alumni, they often tell me they want to mentor students and fellow alumni who are applying for their first jobs or seeking to advance in their careers.”

In response to their feedback, Fox hopes to create more opportunities for alumni to share their skills and expertise within the Maryville community. This includes guest speaker roles in classrooms, career mentorship opportunities and resume preparation and mock interviews with students.

Fox also has his eye on Maryville’s online alumni community—there are more than 1,000 new alumni in last year’s graduating class alone.

“Our online students should feel as much a part of the community as those who attended classes on campus,” Fox says. “Our office is here to assist all alumni in accomplishing their personal and professional goals, to celebrate those moments with them and to present opportunities to engage in more meaningful ways with faculty, students and each other.”