John Nathan Diamond

John N. Diamond has spent 23 years as a senior communications leader for universities in Maine, Arkansas and Wisconsin. Currently the president/executive director of the University of Maine Alumni Association, he also owns John Diamond & Associates, a stakeholder communications and advocacy firm that advises universities and colleges on media, alumni, donor, and public relations.

John served eight years in the Maine Legislature--including four years as House Majority Leader--before leaving politics to become a journalism professor at the University of Maine. As an educator his writings appeared in both scholarly publications and in mainstream media, including Columbia Journalism Review, Washington Journalism Review, and The Washington Monthly. As a faculty member, he was one of four panelists on Media Watch, a weekly Maine PBS program that critiqued news coverage of current events. He also co-produced Inside Augusta with John Diamond, a national award-winning documentary series for Maine PBS on the inner workings of state government.

In 1992 John made the transition from the classroom to the Cabinet, where he served as director of public affairs to the University of Maine's president. He subsequently held similar positions at the University of Maine System, the University of Arkansas, and the University of Wisconsin System before returning to Maine in 2014 to write and publish PLEASE DELETE: How Leadership Hubris Ignited a Scandal and Tarnished a University. The book examines PR and leadership failures affecting the University of Arkansas following the discovery of financial mismanagement in UA's fundraising office.

John has served in a number of leadership roles in national higher education advocacy organizations. As a communications specialist, John has received multiple professional awards, including the Maine Public Relations Council's 2009 Edward Bernays Award, the organization's highest honor. In 2013 he was co-recipient of PR Daily's national award for crisis communication in higher education.

John and his wife, Marcia, live in coastal Maine.