After more than a decade of leading the organization through a period of significant growth, Kansas University Alumni Association President Kevin Corbett is resigning, effective at the end of this month, the association announced Thursday.

Corbett, who has led the association since 2004, has accepted an executive vice president position with Affiliated Builders Group, headquartered in Edmond, Okla.

Corbett has been a “great asset” and made numerous contributions, association board chairman Rick Putnam said. “As a result of his hard work and dedication, the Alumni Association is on extremely solid ground.”

Heath Peterson, vice president of Alumni Programs, will serve as interim president until a new president is hired. Peterson has been with the association since 2005.

Putnam said a search committee has been formed and that its goal is to name Corbett’s successor in the next three to six months. However, he said, the committee will take the time needed to ensure it finds the right person.

He said strong leadership and relationship-building skills would be key and that maintaining and building on the association’s success will be the major goal.

“That’s extremely important,” Putnam said.

KU Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little, in a KU news release announcing Corbett’s resignation, called the association a “vital partner” as the university endeavors to enhance its national reputation.

In the last 10 years, the association’s annual programs and events grew from 70 to more than 400 worldwide, according to the association. Each year, more than 50,000 alumni and friends participate in association activities.

The association’s Presidents Club donor program, created in 2006, now has more than 500 annual members whose support has helped fund the organization’s unprecedented growth, according to the association. Membership has grown from 38,000 to more than 42,000.

The Journal-World was unable to reach Corbett Thursday afternoon, but in the KU news release he said it had been an “honor and privilege” to serve alumni of his alma mater.

“I am proud of the progress made during my time with KU and believe that even greater things are on the horizon,” he said.