Alfred University welcomes two new members to Board of Trustees
Alfred University announces the appointments of Chad Latz ’93 and Jon R. Tabor to the Board of Trustees, effective July 1. The Board approved their appointments at its May meeting and will welcome them as new members during its fall meeting in October.
The University also recognizes longtime Board member Charlie Joyce HD ’22, who was elected to Life Trustees status at the May Board meeting. Joyce transitioned from active service on the Board to Life Trustee in 2023 after more than two decades of service.
Latz, who earned a B.F.A. from Alfred University in 1993, is a public relations professional with more than 25 years of experience in the marketing and communications industry. In June, he was appointed chief innovation officer at Burson, a leading global public relations and communications firm headquartered in New York City recently created through the merger of two top agencies BCW Global and Hill & Knowlton.
In his role at Burson, Latz identifies technology innovations that inspire new opportunities for engagement between stakeholders and brands. He is responsible for leading a team of AI-focused practitioners and partners across data, technology, and academia. Prior, Latz spent 15 years, from 2009-24 at public relations and communications agency BCW Global (formerly Cohn and Wolfe), serving as global president of the Digital Innovation Group. Before BCW Global, Latz was senior vice president of digital strategy and client service at Ketchum Public Relations from 1999-2009.
He continues his studio practice in upstate New York and has over decades has maintained active involvement with Alfred University and the Institute of Electronic Arts.
Latz will serve on the Board of Trustees Student Experience Committee and Marketing and Communications committees. He will be the keynote speaker at Alfred University’s 2024 Opening Convocation ceremonies on August 22.
Jon R. Tabor is the son of late former Alfred University Board of Trustees member Jon K. Tabor ’55 and Mary (Chilcott Singleton) Tabor ’58. He graduated from Ohio State University, earning a bachelor's degree in marketing in 1979 and an MBA in 1981.
In 2009, Jon became president and CEO of Allied Mineral Products, Inc. (AMP)—a global producer and supplier of large refractory products which had previously been led by his father. Early in his leadership, Jon K. Tabor, Jon R. Tabor’s father, recruited fellow Alfred University graduate, John L. Turner ’64, to serve as his right-hand person at AMP. John Turner was with the firm for nearly four decades and was COO and president of AMP when he retired from the firm in 2009.
Jon R. Tabor had been with AMP for nineteen years at the time of his promotion to CEO and president in 2009, having served at the firm in various prior roles including as an executive vice president and general manager.
In 2017, when Jon K. Tabor took on the role of chairman emeritus, Jon R. Tabor assumed the role of chairman in addition to serving as president and CEO. Prior to AMP, Jon R. Tabor was a 10-year employee of Eli Lilly and Co., a worldwide producer of pharmaceutical and medical equipment.
Jon R. Tabor will serve on the Board of Trustees Audit, Finance, and Investment committees.
Charlie Joyce served on Alfred University Board of Trustees for 22 years, from 2001-23. During his tenure as a Trustee, Charlie served on the Executive, Finance, Strategic Planning (former Chair), Student Experience, Trusteeship, and Statutory Affairs (Chair) committees and was a member of a capital campaign.
In 1981, Joyce, who earned his undergraduate degree at Cornell University, and his father, Charles H. Joyce, acquired the company Otis-Eastern, headquartered in Wellsville, New York, and grew it into one of the largest pipeline contractors in the United States. Charlie Joyce served in various roles at Otis-Eastern, including as president, CEO, and chairman. The firm was sold to Artera in 2020.
Joyce served on Alfred University Board of Trustees from 2001-23. During his tenure as a trustee, Charlie served on the Executive, Finance, Strategic Planning (former chair), Student Experience, Trusteeship, and Statutory Affairs (Chair) committees and was a leading member of one of our University’s fundraising campaigns.
Joyce and Alfred University alumna Sherry Walton ’80, ’88 MS Ed., have been generous benefactors of Alfred University, providing funding for the Joyce & Walton Center, which opened in 2014, and the Joyce & Walton Strength and Conditioning Center, which opened in 2018. A generous commitment from Charlie and Sherry in 2018 helped provide support to attract Alfred University’s next vice president of Student Affairs; helped launch Alfred University’s new leadership minor; and underwrote the offering of the “LEAD 301: Improving Alfred University” course taught by the dean of the Inamori School of Engineering and the president of Alfred University.
Joyce joined with fellow trustee Marlin Miller ’54, HD ’89, HD ’19 to underwrite the hiring of a consulting firm to help Alfred University develop a residence life master plan, and, in 2018, he made a generous commitment toward the Saxon Hill project on Jericho Hill, which will enhance Alfred University’s athletic facilities. Construction on that project begins this summer.
In 2022, Alfred University conferred on Charlie the degree Doctor of Commerce, honoris causa, in recognition of his professional accomplishments and his service and generosity to Alfred University as well as the broader Allegany County community.