CORVALLIS - Jonathan S. "Jock" Mills, who has spent the past year representing Gov. John Kitzhaber on the Willamette Restoration Initiative, has been named director of Community and Government Relations at Oregon State University.

He replaces Kevin McCann, who has joined the OSU Foundation working in corporate relations. Mills spent nearly a dozen years working with the Bonneville Power Administration, as a policy analyst, environmental policy manager and, most recently, as the BPA's Oregon liaison. In that position, he represented BPA in a number of settings, including its relations with the Governor's Office, the Oregon Legislature, the Public Utility Commission, state agencies, local governments, and public interest groups.

In 1998, he went "on loan" from BPA to work with the Willamette Restoration Initiative, a public and private partnership appointed by Kitzhaber to develop a comprehensive restoration program for the Willamette River. OSU President Paul Risser chairs the organization.

As director of OSU's program on community and government relations, Mills will work with legislators, community organizations, and other groups to advance the university.

"We are very pleased to have been able to attract Jock Mills to the position," said Orcilia Zuniga-Forbes, vice president for university advancement at OSU. "He brings a very strong background in government relations. His experiences and working relationships with Oregon's legislature and agencies will assist us in building and strengthening partnerships that will benefit OSU, the Oregon University System, and the state."

Mills graduated magna cum laude in political science from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1977, and has a master's of public policy from the University of California at Berkeley.

Source: 

Orcilia Zuniga-Forbes, 541-737-4875

Click photos to see a full-size version. Right click and save image to download.