Ohio University’s Tyrone Carr set to retire on March 16, 2023, reception to be held March 29

Ohio University’s Division of University Advancement announces the retirement of the Alumni Association’s Tyrone (Ty) M. Carr.

Carr, director of Alumni Diversity Initiatives, is retiring from the University March 16, 2023, after more than 32 years of service. The University community is invited to celebrate his retirement at a reception in Baker Center’s 1804 Lounge from 3 -5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29.

“Ty has had a tremendous impact on Ohio University’s students, alumni, faculty, and programs across his more than three decades of service,” said Vice President for University Advancement and President & CEO of The Foundation Nico Karagosian. “The meaningful relationships he has built and stewarded with his Bobcat colleagues, students, alumni, and friends speak volumes about his commitment to OHIO and leave a legacy that will continue to influence our community long past his retirement.”

Carr, an OHIO graduate who earned his master’s of higher education administration from The Patton College of Education in 2000, began his Ohio University career in 1991 as a resident director in Residence Life, serving the Ryors/Treudley/Boyd complex on West Green and making a difference in the lives of OHIO students, some of whom stayed in contact long after graduation. 

From 1994 to 2000, Carr worked in Student Financial Aid as the associate director of student employment, positively impacting the lives of students in the Federal Work Study program, while helping to transform the Program to Aid Career Exploration (PACE) into what it is today. In 2000, Carr became the director of the Center for Multicultural Medicine in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and in 2006 became the University’s associate director of organizational development, working closely with then OHIO President Roderick J. McDavis and then dean of University College, Dr. David Descutner. 

In 2008, Dr. McDavis named Carr special assistant to the Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion as well as director of The Interlink Alliance, a consortium between OHIO and eight Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). The central objective of the consortium — which provided conferences, professional, development, networking, and partnership opportunities — was the development and preparation of African American students to learn, live, and lead in the 21st Century. Its primary goals were to enroll, retain and urge skilled people to accomplish their maximum capacity for the improvement of group and society.

From January to May 2019, Carr served as interim director of the university’s LGBTQ Center.

Then, in May of 2019, Carr joined the Division of University Advancement as a special advisor to the vice president and, then, director of Alumni Diversity Initiatives. In just over three years on the Advancement team, Carr played an integral leadership role in the planning and delivery of two (2019 and 2022) of the university’s triennial Black Alumni Reunions (BAR), a time to reunite with former classmates and friends while forging Bobcat bonds with the students following in their footsteps. 

“This cherished tradition brought together Bobcats from across the country and the pond including Denmark, South Africa and Botswana, to celebrate the University’s Black alumni and their unique and substantial contributions to the OHIO community,” Carr said following the 2022 reunion. “We are proud to acknowledge their commitment to advancing Ohio University and its students.”

Carr has participated in every OHIO BAR since 1992 and expects to be part of the 2025 reunion.

Following Carr’s retirement, Lisa Milne, assistant vice president for alumni relations, external engagement, and her team will continue to support OHIO’s Alumni Diversity Initiatives while the Alumni Association plans the path forward for this priority program area.