Diane Mendenhall was named Executive Director of the University of Nebraska Alumni Association in 2008. Under Mendenhall’s leadership, the association has adopted a new focus—to help more than 165,000 UNL alumni living across the country and around the world maintain a lifelong connection to the University of Nebraska.

To this end, Mendenhall and the association staff have concentrated on developing programs and events designed to engage alumni with their respective areas of interests at UNL. Highlights include:

• New ways for alumni and friends to connect with the university, and with each other, like the Volunteer Opportunity Bank and the career-focused Alumni Association Group on LinkedIn.com.
• Updated and enhanced HuskerAlum.org to better serve alumni.
• Programs to prepare students for their transition to alumni status, with mentoring and career development opportunities through Scarlet Guard (the association’s student organization) and new programs like “What Not to Wear,” a student workshop focused on interview preparation.
• Strong partnerships with the NU Foundation, individual colleges and the athletic department—all of which will allow the alumni association to better serve the needs of alumni.
• Football Fridays at the Wick Alumni Center to bring together university alumni, fans, faculty and staff before Husker football home games.
• Collaboration with the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and the NU Foundation to bring the UNL wind ensemble to Holdrege, Neb., to perform for alumni and friends at the Tassel Theatre.

Mendenhall also serves as a member of Chancellor Harvey Perlman’s Senior Administrative Team for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In this role, she focuses on opportunities for alumni to support the growth and progress of the University of Nebraska.

Previous Career Highlights
Before assuming her current position, Mendenhall spent eight and a half years with the Nebraska Athletic Department. During the latter half of her tenure, Mendenhall served in various roles within the Athletic Department’s administration, culminating with her role as the Assistant Athletic Director for Development & Ticketing. The total revenue of these two operations, excluding capital campaigns, produced more than $52 million annually, nearly 75 percent of the Athletic Department’s yearly budget.

Prior to serving as an Assistant Athletic Director, Mendenhall spent four years as the NU Volleyball Director of Operations. During this time, the Nebraska Volleyball the team compiled a record of 128-9 with three Big 12 Championships, two final four appearances and one national championship.

Before arriving at the University of Nebraska, Diane was a National Consultant for Curtis and Associates, speaking on motivation and philosophy across the country. She was the first consultant to speak internationally for the communications company. Mendenhall has also served as a head volleyball coach at the collegiate and high school levels.

About Diane
Mendenhall, a native of Ogallala, Neb., earned her a bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas, where she was a four-year starter for the Jayhawk Volleyball Team and the team captain as a senior. She continues to maintain close ties with the sport, serving as a color analyst for the Husker Sports Network radio broadcasts of Nebraska Volleyball and as a radio host for the Husker Volleyball Show with John Cook.

In addition to volleyball, Diane’s passions include her family and her golf game (which she hopes to someday rediscover). Diane and her husband, Rich, travel to the East Coast regularly to visit Ally, their daughter. Ally is a 2008 graduate of Yale University and currently works for Sen. Mike Johanns.