Chrisman Named Alumni Association Interim Executive Vice President

The executive committee of the Baylor Alumni Association unanimously accepted on Nov. 4 the recommendation of its search committee to name the Honorable P. Oswin "Os" Chrisman, BA '57, JD '59, as interim executive vice president of the Baylor Alumni Association. He will begin his duties immediately.
"The alumni association is going through a time of transition on many fronts," said David Malone, BA '73, who led the search committee. "Because of this situation, we realized early on in the course of our meetings that an interim executive vice president would be the best solution to our current leadership needs. This person needed to be someone who was knowledgeable about the alumni association and Baylor University and who had a lifetime of demonstrated support for both organizations. Os Chrisman was at the top of our list."
Chrisman currently serves as an arbitrator and mediator for Judicial Arbitration Mediation Services (JAMS) in Dallas and as a distinguished professor and lecturer at Dallas Baptist University. He also is a senior retired judge of the 44th District Court and hears cases as a visiting judge in Texas. After serving 13 years as a judge in the probate, family and district courts of Dallas County, Chrisman was a partner in the law firm of Vial, Hamilton, Koch & Knox from 1982 to 1997 and of counsel with Fulbright & Jaworski from 1997 to 2001.
He received the Baylor Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni Award in 1998 and served on the executive committee of the alumni association's board of directors for many years, including a term as president in 1980. Chrisman also has served as vice chair of Baylor's board of regents and as chair of the board of trustees of Baylor University Medical Center, the Baylor Health Care System and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition, he has been president of Dallas Mental Health Association and the Mental Health Association of Texas.
Chrisman will serve as the chief executive officer of the Baylor Alumni Association, a non-profit organization that operates autonomously from Baylor under a separate board of directors and is primarily funded by membership dues. Founded in 1859 to support the interests of Baylor and its alumni, the association represents more than 95,000 living graduates around the world -- 21,000 of whom are dues-paying active annual or life members. The group publishes the editorially independent Baylor Line magazine, hosts Homecoming reunions and the Heritage Club and recognizes alumni achievement through the Distinguished Alumni Award and other honors.
Chrisman follows Randy Lofgren, BM '62, MM '70, EdD '74, who served as the association's executive vice president from April 2001 to October 2002. Lofgren is now associate vice president for alumni services in Baylor's newly created alumni services division.
"I want to help the Baylor Alumni Association define its vision for the future while maintaining its valued traditions -- such as the Baylor Line's balanced, candid reporting on sensitive and controversial campus matters," Chrisman said. "I'm a mediator by profession, and I'm eager to work with Randy and other Baylor administrators in ways that will be mutually beneficial."
"We're delighted that Os Chrisman has accepted the opportunity to become our interim executive vice presiden," said current association president Pruitt Ashworth, BA '70. "It would be hard to find a more capable person than Os to provide leadership during this important time in the life of the alumni association."
Chrisman and his wife, Marilyn Barron Chrisman, BA '59, are members of Cliff Temple Baptist Church in Dallas, where he has served as chair of the deacons, trustee and Sunday school teacher. They have two children: Lori Chrisman Hockett, BA '84, who earned a law degree from SMU and is a practicing attorney in Dallas; and David Chrisman, BA '87, MA '90, who earned his doctorate from Texas A&M University and is a history professor at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. They also have three grandchildren: Luke, Jake, and Claire Hockett.
For more information, contact Todd Copeland at the Baylor Alumni Association at (254) 710-1121.