FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HEAD OF GLOBAL AD AGENCY JWT AND MANHATTAN COLLEGE ALUMNUS INDUCTED INTO ALUMNI HALL OF DISTINCTION

Bob Jeffrey, chief executive of JWT and 1975 graduate of Manhattan, is a member of the 2005 class of inductees.

RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Manhattan College alumnus Bob Jeffrey ’75, chief executive officer of global advertising giant JWT (formerly known as J. Walter Thompson), was recently inducted into the 2005 Independent Sector Alumni Hall of Distinction. All 12 honorees have made outstanding contributions to the state of New York through their careers and public service. The Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU) announced the inductees during its 49th Annual Meeting at the Albany Institute of History and Art in early March. Manhattan College is a CICU member institution.

This year’s class of inductees is comprised of individuals who came to New York from other states or countries to attend an independent college or university and now call New York home. New York is a leading destination for first-time students from other states; eight in 10 of these young people come to enroll at a private college or university. Many remain after graduation, giving back to our communities and contributing to the economy. Jeffrey, now a resident of New York, was raised in Rhode Island. 

Jeffrey completed a bachelor’s degree in English from the College in 1975. He then went on to establish an impressive career in advertising. Before joining JWT in 1998, Jeffrey was executive vice president of Lowe Lintas, where he established the agency’s first West Coast operations. Earlier, he co-founded Goldsmith/Jeffrey, a successful start-up that Lowe later acquired. Now one of the most powerful people in the business, Jeffrey continues to focus on revamping JWT’s reputation as the oldest and one of the largest advertising brands worldwide. He was nominated to chief executive in January of 2004 after spending five years in several top executive roles, including president of JWT North America.

CICU, which created the Alumni Hall of Distinction in 2000, is a group that represents the chief executives of New York’s 100-plus independent (private, nonprofit) colleges and universities on issues of public policy.

Manhattan College, founded in 1853, is an independent, Catholic, coeducational institution of higher learning offering more than 40 major programs of undergraduate study in the areas of arts, business, education, engineering and science, along with graduate study in education and engineering.

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