June 01, 2015
Three alumni join SIU Foundation Board
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Three alumni of Southern Illinois University have joined the SIU Foundation Board of Directors. They are serving three-year terms that will conclude on June 30, 2018.
The newest members of the Foundation’s volunteer board are: Harold Bardo, who earned a bachelor’s in history and a doctorate in education from SIU in 1962 and 1972, respectively; Randy Daniels, a 1973 radio-television graduate, and Adaire Putnam, a 1981 speech communications graduate.
The board governs the SIU Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization that provides alumni and friends a means to invest in the University’s future. Established in 1942, the Foundation solicits and administers gifts from private sources in support of SIU Carbondale’s academic mission. Private funding is generated through annual giving, planned giving, major giving, corporate and foundation relations and campaigns.
Bardo, who competed in basketball and track as a student-athlete at SIU, has been affiliated with the university for more than 50 years. The Sparta native initially joined the faculty as an Educational Psychology instructor in 1968. Bardo proceeded to serve two stints as director of the university’s Medical/Dental Education Preparatory Program (MEDPREP), the second concluding with his retirement in 2014. Most recently, Bardo was the university’s interim athletics director -- the second time held that position. He was SIU’s NCAA faculty representative for 15 years. A life member of the SIU Alumni Association, Bardo was honored for his decades of service through the establishment of the Harold Bardo Medical Student Scholarship Endowment. Bardo also worked with university and community leaders to raise money for scholarships during the Project Hope and Opportunity campaign. He received the university’s Lindell W. Sturgis Memorial Public Service Award in 2014. Bardo also holds a master’s degree in counselor education from SIU Edwardsville.
Daniels, a Chicago native, has enjoyed a prestigious career in New York politics, journalism and public relations. Since April 2007, he has served as vice chairman of Gilford Securities, Inc., one of Wall Street’s few remaining private investment banking firms, which focuses on the Middle East and Asia, in addition to the U.S. Daniels is the former New York State Secretary of State, a post he was appointed to by then-Gov. George E. Pataki in April 2001. He resigned that position in 2006 to run for governor of New York. From 1999 to 2001, Daniels was senior vice president of Canyon Johnson Urban Fund, L.L.P., a real estate equity fund based in Beverly Hills, Calif. The SIU alumnus established the Randy A. Daniels Scholarship for Excellence in Communication Fund in 2006 to finance scholarships in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts (MCMA). It is split evenly between students in financial aid and others who have attained academic excellence, respectively. The SIU Alumni Association member serves on the MCMA Dean’s National Industry Council.
Putnam has enjoyed a highly successful career in public relations and communications for Kellogg Company in Battle Creek, Mich. She was responsible for the $12B company’s global corporate reputation, including issues and crisis management. Prior to her time with Kellogg, Putnam was partner and director of global PR agency Ketchum, where she headed its Midwest region. Today, Putnam is president of Putnam Communications, helping companies, brands and organizations build and protect their reputations. A life member of the SIU Alumni Association, Putnam’s university service includes stints as president of the College of Business Administration’s External Advisory and Marketing Advisory boards, as well as serving as a member of the CoBA Campaign Steering Committee. The Chicago native earned a bachelor’s in communications from SIU and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. She was named an SIU Inspiring Woman of Achievement in 2007.
Harold Bardo
Randy Daniels
Adaire Putnam