Tim Pavish has been named executive director of Washington State University Alumni Relations and the Alumni Association. The 1980 graduate of WSU’s Edward R. Murrow School of Communication was selected from 50 applicants in a national search. He began his new job September 8, succeeding Keith Lincoln, who is retiring.

“Tim has been a tremendous friend of our university over the years. We have greatly appreciated his loyalty, his hard work, and his wise counsel. He is an ideal choice to continue the job of building the association and meeting the needs of our alumni,” says WSU president V. Lane Rawlins.

Before accepting the WSU post, Pavish was a managing partner of DDB Worldwide, Inc. in Seattle. He joined the firm in 1983 and helped it grow from $10 million to more than $220 million in client billings, making it the largest communications agency in the state. As managing partner, he was responsible for directing the advertising division, the largest and most profitable of the agency’s four operating units.

Pavish saluted Lincoln and the vibrant alumni association he and his staff have built over the past 26 years. “It’s clear WSU alumni care deeply about this university,” he said. “I am thrilled with this opportunity. I love Washington State University and am proud of all it has achieved. There is more to be done. We’ll do our best to ensure that alumni get the most out of their involvement with WSU and that alumni have meaningful ways to give back to their alma mater.”

The Walla Walla native has remained involved with WSU since graduating. He is a trustee ambassador on the WSU Foundation Board of Trustees and a current member of the WSU Athletic Foundation Advisory Committee, the University’s Advancement Communications Committee, and the Professional Advisory Board of the Murrow school. He is a past winner of the WSU Foundation’s Alumni Service Award and has served as a communications advisor to the WSU administration.

He has also directed the development and execution of award-winning advertising campaigns in support of the WSU Foundation and WSU Athletics.

Pavish also led DDB Worldwide, Inc. in becoming a benefactor of WSU, and he established the DDB Minority Student Scholarship in support of the Murrow School of Communication and WSU Athletics.

He is married to Carin Hull Pavish (’80 Clothing and Textiles). The couple has two children, McKenzie, 12, and Ben, 9.