Nipper Named President of Arkansas Alumni Association Board of Directors

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Steve Nipper of Magnolia is the new president of the Arkansas Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Steve Nipper, community bank president of BancorpSouth in Magnolia, will take the helm of the Arkansas Alumni Association Board of Directors on July 1 for a two-year term.

A Magnolia native, Nipper graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1971 with an undergraduate degree in finance and banking and a master's degree in business administration. He is also a graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking and the national Commercial Lending School.

Nipper's professional and community service leadership roles have been exemplary. He has served in numerous leadership roles including service as president of the Little Rock Jaycees, a member of the Magnolia City Hospital Board of Commissioners, a member of the Magnolia Arts Council Board, president of the Magnolia United Way and president of the Magnolia/Columbia County Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, he has worked with Leadership Magnolia and served the Columbia County Community Foundation Board. He has been appointed twice by Arkansas governors in state leadership positions (Commission for Arkansas's Future appointed by Gov. Bill Clinton and the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority appointed by Gov. Jim Guy Tucker. Nipper was recognized as Magnolia's 2004 Citizen of the Year.

Having served on the Arkansas Alumni Association's Board of Directors since July 2003, Nipper is looking forward to his new leadership role. "I am humbled and honored to be elected president of the Alumni Association," he said. "I am certainly proud to be able to serve. It is gratifying to find a way to give back to my university, which has given me the foundation for my career."

Former association president, Gerald Jordan, a University of Arkansas journalism professor, will remain on the Arkansas Alumni Association Board of Directors for a one-year term as past president.