Former Stanford swimmer Jon Denney officially began his new jobs on Sunday, September 1st, as as the chief development officer for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the president of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Foundation.
This comes after 22 years working at his alma mater, including as the senior associate vice president for development.
Both his old role at Stanford, and his new role at the USOC, focus on fundraising.
While an undergrad at Stanford, from where he graduated in 1985, Denney set the Stanford school record in the 200 fly with a 1:46.64, and was a captain of the men’s NCAA Championship team in 1985.
“I will miss the daily interaction with my Stanford colleagues, but my love for Stanford will not be diminished,” Denney said of his new role. “Even though I’ve spent most of my career on the Farm, the more important aspects of my relationship with Stanford are my affiliation as an alumnus, the parent of a current undergraduate student, and a fan of Stanford Athletics. Those roles aren’t changing.”
Denney writes about his time at Stanford in this self-scribed piece here.
Jon Denney is a great guy. The short bio of him (above) highlights some of his accomplishments. I’d like to add one more that’s often overlooked: when Jon was associate Stanford AD in the late 90s, he was the point man for making the huge addition to the Stanford Swimming facility a reality. The deGeurre facility with two pools (25 yd, 50m) became the modern Avery Aquatics Center with four pools (refurbished 25 yd, 2x50m, 10 meter high diving well). Jon worked with donors, coaches, builders, architects, and administrators to create what is arguably one of the finest swimming facilities in the world. He will be missed.