MODESTO - David H. Hosley, president and general manager of KVIE Public Television in Sacramento, has been named president of the University of California, Merced's Modesto-based Great Valley Center. The veteran journalist, author, nonprofit consultant, and community leader succeeds the regional development organization's founder and former president, Carol Whiteside, who has led the center for more than a decade. He will begin his new position effective Feb. 1, 2008.
"We are extremely pleased to find a candidate of David Hosley's caliber to take the helm at the Great Valley Center," said Steve Kang, chancellor of UC Merced and chair of the GVC board of directors. "He is a proven manager and strategist, a skilled communicator and fund-raiser, and a strong proponent of regional planning and socio-economic development. The center will benefit enormously from his leadership, his knowledge of regional issues, his great familiarity with academic institutions, and his unique combination of nonprofit and managerial experience as we seek to improve the quality of life in the fast-growing Central Valley."
Hosley has a long and distinguished record as a newsman, media executive, community volunteer and strategic consultant to nonprofit organizations. Beginning at age 14, he worked for 25 years as a journalist in Northern California, Miami and New York. He entered public broadcasting management in 1987, managing both radio and television outlets in the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to Sacramento. He has served as president and general manager of KVIE-TV since 1998.
In the Central Valley, Hosley has developed strong links to community groups and nonprofit organizations addressing a wide range of regional issues. At KVIE, he created the New Valley series that has resulted in 23 programs on the future of the Central Valley. He also has supervised the production of more than a dozen videos to support visioning, blueprint, and economic development efforts in the Valley.
In addition, Hosley serves on the University of California, Davis Foundation Board of Trustees and chairs the Dean's Advisory Council for the UC Davis College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. He also serves or has previously served as a board member of more than a dozen other nonprofit or civic organizations, including the Sacramento Asian-Pacific Chamber of Commerce and the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, which is honoring Hosley as Volunteer of the Year next month.
Hosley has written, lectured, and consulted extensively on strategic planning and development for nonprofit organizations. He is the author of two books on broadcast journalism, held a faculty appointment at the University of Florida, and has taught at Stanford University, Florida International University and the College of Notre Dame.. He is a volunteer with the Stanford Alumni Consulting Team, which provides pro bono consulting in strategic planning and development in the nonprofit sector.
Hosley holds a co-terminal master's degree from Stanford University in communications and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in sociology.
"One of the key community leaders I visited after joining KVIE was Carol Whiteside and I attended the first annual Great Valley Center conference," says Hosley. "It was a great way to learn about the challenges presented by the rapid growth of the Valley. Since then, we have partnered in many ways to help engage the public in decisions how we're going to live together in the future as we add so many new residents. I am excited that Chancellor Kang and the center's board have chosen me to lead the GVC into its second decade and look forward to working with students, faculty and university leadership as UC Merced grows as a unique regional resource."
The Great Valley Center is a nonprofit organization founded in 1997 to promote the economic, social and environmental well-being of California's Central Valley. In its 10 years of existence, the GVC has brought a regional perspective to a wide range of issues, from water supply and air quality to transportation, housing, work-force development and health care. The center is credited with launching an era of regional cooperation and planning that has greatly strengthened the area's influence on public policy issues at the state level. As of November 2005, the GVC is a unit of UC Merced, the newest University of California campus, for research and staff support.
"Carol Whiteside's contribution to the Great Valley Center and the people it serves has been nothing short of extraordinary," said Kang. "She recognized a pressing need for regional planning and turned it into a thriving, highly effective force for change in just 10 years. The future of the Central Valley and its five million residents has been greatly enhanced by her vision and leadership."
Note to Editors: A photograph of David Hosley is available by contacting Ana Shaw at ashaw@ucmerced.edu or (209) 228-4406.
For more information about the Great Valley Center, please visit the organization's Web site at www.greatvalley.org
