Lynde Ritzow oversees recruitment, student success, alumni partnerships and engagement for the Knight Campus Graduate Internship Program (KCGIP). She joined the UO Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry as the graduate recruiting coordinator in 1998, the same year four faculty members in chemistry and physics joined industry to launch the Master’s Industrial Internship Program’s first track in semiconductors — the program that grew into the KCGIP. In 2008, after ten years of recruiting Ph.D. students, Ritzow joined the master’s program as the first full-time recruiter, marketer and student advisor and was named associate director for the program soon thereafter. She served in that role for 15 years before moving to her current role as director of student success & alumni partnerships in 2024.

Prior to her time at the UO, Ritzow was the editor of Oregon Cycling, a tabloid focused on bike racing and recreation. She also served as a buyer/manager at McKenzie Outfitters, one of the area’s premier outdoor outfitters in its heyday. Ritzow has B.S. degrees in sociology and journalism from the University of Oregon. She is passionate about helping students reach their full potential and watching them evolve into the leaders of tomorrow.