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Alumni Leadership​

Officers

Jay Ketterling ('80)

Council President
Olathe, KS

Sheila (Vandervoort '79) Bird

Immediate Past President
Lenexa, KS

Danny Buxie ('07)

President-Elect
Olathe, KS

Troy Snyder (MHR '03)

Council Secretary
Olathe, KS

Alumni Council Members

  • Andrew Speicher (’98), Board of Trustees; Olathe, KS
  • Dr. Jill (Wilkinson ’96) Speicher, MNU Faculty; Olathe, KS

Alumni Engagement Staff

Pete Brumbaugh

(’90, MBA ’04), Executive Director of University Communications and Alumni Engagement

A member of MNU’s University Advancement team since 2014, Pete brings a wealth of experience to the position, having served for 12 years in the nonprofit sector at Heart to Heart International and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City. On top of building long-term relationships and increasing donor engagement, he has also been a marketing professor in MNU’s MBA program. From 1994-96, he served as a resident educator and the publications advisor at MNU. Brumbaugh also worked five years at Garmin leading their media relations team.

He married Tami (Cope, MED ‘19) Brumbaugh in 1993. They have two daughters: Hannah (’22) and Halee, a college senior. He and his family reside in Olathe and are members of College Church of the Nazarene.

Pete Brumbaugh

Pioneer for Life Covenant

MidAmerica Nazarene University annually welcomes hundreds of students into a distinctive, purpose-driven community of learners and leaders. The Alumni Association strives to continue growing this relationship with all Pioneers beyond their campus experience by committing to:

Navigate Your Alumni Journey

Engage more deeply in the life and mission of your alma mater. 

Dr. Abby Hodges

Vice President for Academic Affairs

PhD; Organic Chemistry, Yale University 
MS; Organic Chemistry, Yale University 
BS; Chemistry, Denison University

Dr. Hodges began her career in higher education at Azusa Pacific University as a chemistry professor from 2008 to 2014. She then moved to MNU where she taught and in 2018 was appointed Chair of the Department of Natural, Health, and Mathematical Sciences. From 2022-2023, before accepting the Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Hodges was the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Hodges’ career research has focused on protein folding and protein engineering, and she has mentored over twenty students in these research projects. She has also furthered the MNU first-year experience program and chaired the General Education committee for five years. Dr. Hodges was recognized as the MNU Faculty of the Year in 2021.

Dr. Hodges lives in Olathe with her husband Ryan and two boys.