Tim is a 1980 cum-laude graduate of WSU’s Murrow College of Communication. He worked 23 years in advertising before joining WSU in 2003 as the executive director of the WSU Alumni Association. Tim worked for DDB Worldwide for over 20 years. During his tenure, DDB/Seattle (originally called Elgin Syferd) grew from a small agency with 20 employees and $12 million in billings to the largest agency in Washington with over 165 employees and a quarter of a billion dollars in billings. Tim was the managing partner of advertising, which was the agency’s largest and most profitable unit. While at DDB, Tim endowed the Elgin Syferd/DDB Diversity Scholarship. In recognition of its support, the agency was named a WSU Benefactor.
He started his alumni involvement by speaking to advertising and PR classes. Tim became a member of the Murrow Professional Advisory Board and later served as its chair. As a Board member, he conceived of the annual Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1994 and led the revitalization of the Murrow Symposium. In 2004, he proposed the creation of the Murrow Alumni Hall of Achievement, which the college later established. He is a President’s Associate, a WSUF’s Heritage Society member, a WSUAA Platinum Life Member, and an inductee in the Murrow College’s Alumni Hall of Achievement.
As the executive director of the WSUAA, Tim and his staff dramatically increased the number of members, boosted alumni-engagement events from 150 per year to over 800, and enhanced the financial strength of the WSUAA. The WSUAA has grown from 13,000 members to over 33,000, with a goal to reach 40,000 by 2020. Tim led the production of the popular “Go Cougs” TV campaign that was recognized as one of the top three TV campaigns produced by a university in the world.