Jackson Free Press

Belhaven University recently named Frank Laws, a 1991 graduate of the university, as its new director of advancement and alumni relations. In his position, Laws will be responsible for maintaining communications with alumni and friends of the university, as well as bringing in capital and services to Belhaven.

Laws, who grew up in Clarksdale, attended high school at Lee Academy and graduated from Belhaven University with a bachelor's degree in humanities in 1991. After graduating, he worked as a student recruiter for the universities admissions department until 1995.

That same year, Laws moved to Atlanta and enrolled at Oglethorpe University. While at Oglethorpe, he took a job as assistant vice president of sales at Rollins Leasing and Construction Market Data Group in 1998.

In 2001, Laws joined Wells Real Estate Funds, a real estate investment company, as assistant vice president of sales. He earned a Series 7 license, which allows the holder to give financial advice to clients on subjects such as investments, stock options, securities and retirement plans, in 2001.

Laws moved to Toledo, Ohio, in 2007 to take a job as senior vice president of sales at American Healthcare Investors, a real estate investment firm that acquires and manages health-care-related real estate including medical office buildings, hospitals, senior housing and nursing facilities. In that position, he was responsible for managing the company's business dealings in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. AHI named Laws as the company's top-producing vice president in 2009 and 2015.

He moved back to Jackson from Toledo on Jan. 2, 2019, after accepting the alumni relations position with his alma mater.

"My new role with Belhaven University is something I've hoped to do for the last 14 years," Laws told the Jackson Free Press. "I think Belhaven serves a unique role in Mississippi, which it fulfills by producing students who are prepared to serve the community."

Laws' wife, fellow Belhaven graduate Pamela Laws, works as a kindergarten teacher's assistant. The couple are founding board members of the Celtic American Heritage Society, which sponsors CelticFest Mississippi, an annual event at the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Museum that celebrates traditional Celtic music and dance. The Laws have been married for 28 years.