Ron Dostal To Lead Wabash College Alumni And Affinity Engagement

A 1992 Wabash graduate will return to his alma mater to serve as Director of Alumni and Affinity Group Engagement. Ron Dostal, a retired Deloitte Consulting executive, will assume the post July 1.

A native of Indianapolis, Dostal was an English major at Wabash and a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He has served the College as a volunteer with its Center for Innovation, Business, and Entrepreneurship, Lilly Awards Selection Committee, and in the Society of Class Agents; he was a Class Agent from 1992-99.

“It’s a privilege to accept the invitation to serve our beloved College,” Dostal said. “I’m excited to bring my consulting experience and develop new programming on the foundation built by our Alumni and Parent Relations team during the Giant Steps Campaign. I look forward to helping our alumni, spouses, families, and other partners engage meaningfully in innovative ways with Wabash students and one another.”

Dostal spent his entire career with Deloitte Consulting LLP, starting straight out of Wabash as an analyst before rising to senior manager in 2003, and as partner and principal from 2007 until his retirement in 2021. He led Deloitte Consulting’s U.S. “Law & Justice” market offering (2008-09), contract management team (2011-14), quality management group (2017-18), and risk management function (2018-19) during a period of rapid revenue growth.

Dostal earned a master’s degree in business administration from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College. He brings to Wabash a full toolkit, including experience in client relationship engagement, business risk assessment, cross-function collaboration, budget management, and staff recruiting, management, and mentoring.

“I am thrilled to welcome Ron as a senior member of the College Advancement team,” said Dean for College Advancement Michelle Janssen. “He has been an active and generous son of Wabash since his graduation and will bring fresh insight and strategic perspectives to the work of compellingly engaging our incredible alumni base, while deepening relationships with other important College constituencies.”

Dostal takes over the position from Steve Hoffman ’85, who served as Director of Alumni and Parent Relations since 2015 and will become Senior Major Gifts and Special Projects Officer in the Advancement Office.

“Steve’s leadership of the Alumni and Parent Relations team and program is laudable for many reasons, but a few pioneering initiatives – the reimagination of our regional engagement approach as well as the execution of a comprehensive alumni engagement survey – really stand out,” Dean Janssen said. “Relationships matter to Steve, so I am grateful that he will be entrusted to work with some of the College’s most faithful and generous alumni and friends in his new role as the Senior Major Gifts and Special Projects Officer.”

Dostal will oversee the College’s alumni association, the National Association of Wabash Men, and will work directly with its Board of Directors. He’ll also oversee on-campus event planning, including Big Bash Reunion Weekend, Homecoming, and activities associated with the Monon Bell Classic, plus regional alumni events across the country.

“I am excited to work with Ron as I begin my term as President of the NAWM Board,” said Jim Hawksworth ’95. “The unique perspectives he will bring from his very successful career in consulting will be invaluable as we think about what the NAWM will focus on in the short- and long-term. I’m excited to roll up our sleeves and get to work.”

An avid traveler, Dostal has spent the two years of his retirement visiting major league ballparks across the country in every major North American sport. The idea came to him while waiting for a game to start at Camden Yards in Baltimore, which gave him time to take stock of the stadiums he’d visited. That inspired him to schedule his travels to align with pro sports teams’ home schedules. He talked about his love of sports – and sports facilities – in a Wabash on My Mind podcast with Richard Paige in February.

Dostal also reflected on a Pike High School teacher, Charles Brooks ’41, who in his freshman year, introduced him to Wabash College in the podcast. “He seemed like he knew at least a little bit about everything, and I thought that was very cool. And if that’s what Wabash was going to do for me, I was in,” Dostal said.

“Ron will build upon a strong foundation that Steve Hoffman helped establish during his tenure,” said Kip Chase ’03, recent past-president of the NAWM Board. “Steve has much to be proud of and his leadership oversaw the Wabash Alumni network consistently stay within the top two networks in America and did so during a capital campaign and through the COVID pandemic.”