An Evening of Patriotic Music:
a Tribute to Dr. James M. AuBuchon

Dr. James M. AuBuchon
Vice President for University Advancement

Dr. James AuBuchon was born in Baxter Springs, Kansas, and attended schools in Riverton and Baxter Springs. He graduated from Pittsburg State University in 1963 with a bachelor of science in education and a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He completed a master's degree from PSU in 1969 and a Ph.D. from Kansas State University in 1978.

From 1963 until 1967, he served in the U.S. Army, completing assignments at Ft. Benning, Georgia; Ft. Riley, Kansas; The Republic of Vietnam; and Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. He left active duty in 1967 and returned to Pittsburg where he joined the staff at Pittsburg State University as Assistant Director of the Student Center. He held the following administrative positions at PSU: 1972 to 1982 - associate director of student affairs and international student adviser; 1982 to 1992 - director of placement and student development programs; 1992 to 1995 - associate vice president for student affairs; 1995 to 1998 - director of major giving; and 1998 to 2006 - vice president for university advancement.

Some of Dr. AuBuchon's accomplishments include his involvement in raising $6 million in corporate, government, foundation, and private funds to complete the nearly $30-million funding package for the Kansas Technology Center. He managed the successful $100-million capital campaign completed in June 2000. More recently, he provided leadership in the $5.7-million campaign to renovate and expand the football stadium. He served as project director of the initiative to design, fund and construct the $1.3 million PSU Veterans Memorial Amphitheater. He continues to manage its ongoing operations. He also provided leadership in the development and launching of the $120 million Campaign for Pittsburg State University: Continuing the Legacy, which is currently underway. As executive director of the PSU Foundation, he has managed the affairs of the PSU Foundation, Inc., which has more than $50 million in assets.

Dr. AuBuchon retired from the U.S. Army in 1999 after 36 years of active and reserve duty with the rank brigadier general. He currently serves as chairperson of the Kansas Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, and ambassador for the State of Kansas to the U.S. Army Reserve. He is a member of the Kansas Transportation 2000 Task Force and the Governor's Economic Review Panel. He previously served as president of the U.S. Highway 69 Association and chairperson of the transportation council of SEK, Inc.

In the Pittsburg community, he served as chairman and member of the board of trustees of Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center. Currently he is a member of the board of directors of the Family Resource Center, Inc., and has served two terms as board president. He is also a member of the advisory board of M&I Bank (formerly Gold Bank) of Pittsburg. He previously served as the mayor of Pittsburg and as a Pittsburg city commissioner. He has also been active in SEK, Inc., and other civic organizations in the community and the region.

Jim and his wife, Cathy, have a son, Aaron, and a daughter, Laurel, and three grandchildren.