Alumni Advisory Board Installs Michael K. Short '99 As Alumni Society President

The Alumni Advisory Board installed Michael K. Short ’99 as the president of The Alumni Society of The University of Scranton at its April 28 meeting.

Short officially became president for a two-year term after Past President Col. Richard H. Breen Jr., U.S. Army (ret) ’77 passed the society’s gavel to him in a transfer of power ceremony. Breen assumed the duties of past president from Martina Martin ’80, who completed her term of service to the board with the transfer. Colleen Neary, Esq. ’88 assumed the duties of president-elect from Short and will succeed him as president when his term is up in 2020.

Short, who resides in Mendham, NJ with his wife Susanna Puntel Short ’01 and son Grady Michael Short, graduated from the University with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing. He owns two Allstate insurance agencies that provide multi-line insurance products. He is Series 6 FINRA-certified as a personal financial representative and is a licensed NJ realtor. He previously served as director of service programs at Scranton Preparatory School and was a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in Brooklyn, NY. During Short’s tenure as an Allstate agency owner, he has won numerous company and industry awards. In 2010, Short’s agency was ranked sixth out of all 12,500+ Allstate agencies countrywide. Short’s other awards include Allstate’s Inner Circle Elite (Top 1% in the country), #2 Performing Allstate NJ Agency (2009, 2010), Chairman’s Award, Honor Ring Award and the President’s Conference Award, and he has merited the distinction of Premier Service Agency since the award's creation in 2009. Short enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, studying business/entrepreneurship trends, real estate investment, skiing, golf, SCUBA diving, photography and technology.

“I’d like to thank this board,” Short said to the members of the Alumni Society Advisory Board who were present. “You inspire me to be better. I respect each of you tremendously and will do my absolute best to lead you.”

Short promised the board he would foster a good relationship between the board and the Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., University president-elect, as he transitions to University president, push the board and its members to take a more active role in the University community, maintain transparency with his fellow board members and, lastly, “have a lot of fun.”

“I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to get started and see what we can achieve together,” Short said. “We have a tremendous group of leaders to propel this board forward.”

During his farewell address as president, Breen thanked Martin, Short, his fellow board members and several others he encountered during his previous 12 years on the board. He told his fellow board members to be proud of the work they had done together during his term as president, which included inviting regional club leaders to one of the board’s meetings per year, supporting the Ignite Leadership Conference, creating Toast2Scranton as an annual student engagement event, increasing the board’s participation in the President’s Business Council, refining the nomination process for new board members, establishing a quasi-endowment fund and creating The University of Scranton Alumni Coin of Excellence, a symbolic representation of membership in the Alumni Society first presented to the Class of 2017 at its commencement ceremony.

“I would like to believe that being a member of this Alumni Society Board helps tie us closer to our University, cements lifelong friendships and relationships, (and) enhances the power of volunteerism and giving back, but most important, it continues to link us together with our Catholic and Jesuit identities,” Breen said. “That above all means the most to me as we all try to be stewards of this University by being, in the words of St. Ignatius Loyola, 'men and women for others.'”

In recognition of his service, the board presented Breen with several gifts, including a chair branded with the University seal and a t-shirt quilt constructed from the t-shirts given out at the University events he presided over during his term.

For more information on The Alumni Society, visit its webpage.