OXFORD, Ohio - Miami University Paper Science and Engineering Foundation Executive Director Jon Kerr, a longtime pulp and paper industry veteran, will be retiring, the foundation announced Friday afternoon.

Kerr, a former director of sales and technology at Andritz, director of marketing at Black Clawson Co., and a consultant for Fisher International, took over as executive director at Miami in January of 2011.

In a statement, Jack Bray, vice president of manufacturing operations at Domtar and president of the Paper Science and Engineering Foundation at Miami University, said, "It is with mixed emotions that I announce the upcoming retirement of Jon Kerr from the Executive Director position at the PS&E Foundation at Miami University. Although I am happy for Jon that he has decided to go on to the "best job" there is, both the Foundation and myself will miss his tireless efforts to strengthen and build up the PSEF and help bring talented young people into our industry."

Kerr said he has enjoyed his career in the pulp and paper industry.

"I have led a very privileged life," Kerr wrote in his letter to the board. "Having spent the first 30 years working either in a paper mill or with supplier companies to the paper industry, I've been able to go places and see things that most people don't. I've been in just about every mill in North America at least once, and I've traveled to Europe, Asia, and South America on a regular basis as a part of my responsibilities. But being an industrial tourist isn't the greatest part of what I've experienced. It's the problems I've been able to solve (or, in some cases, to create) and the friends that I've made along the way. It's dumbfounding to me the number of people I have in my contacts list that I feel perfectly comfortable calling or contacting about anything from technical problems to job openings to simply staying in touch. This industry is comprised of some terrific people and I'm particularly privileged to know many of them and call them my friends."

Kerr added that his years as executive director of the Miami foundation have been memorable.

"I have had a great run. We've accomplished a lot together," he said. "The board is strong and engaged. The committees are accomplishing their tasks and the students are recruiting more students. There are over 100 enrollees in the program now and there's no reason to think that we've reached the limit. In the last five years, we've paid out nearly $1 million in merit based scholarships. And this year, we're graduating over 20 students into permanent jobs that are paying an average of over $70,000/year. The industry is clamoring for more of the product that we're putting out. Life is great. ... Thank you to the Board and to the Executive Committee for the privilege of working at the Paper Science and Engineering Foundation for the last five years. It's been the very best cap to my career that I could have ever asked for."

Bray said that the executive committee is at work to find a successor to Kerr.