Vice President for Institutional Advancement

Southern Connecticut State University

Vice President for Institutional Advancement

Southern Connecticut State University, a comprehensive public university in New Haven, Connecticut, invites applications, nominations, and expressions of interest for the position of Vice President for Institutional Advancement. 

Southern seeks an experienced and successful fundraising professional with proven leadership ability who is able to build relationships and work collegially with the many people and departments at Southern that contribute to the advancement effort.  To meet Southern’s advancement needs, the new vice president will have considerable support.  Most importantly, there will be many partners not only in the advancement division, but also across campus and in the community—senior administration, the deans of Southern’s five schools, department chairs, faculty, staff, coaches, the athletic staff, the alumni and the Alumni Association, the Foundation Board, and the many friends of the University in the New Haven area.  What is more, over the past several years, Southern has developed considerable momentum—new programs and curricula, a remarkable transformation of campus facilities, and a multifaceted planning effort--of which the new vice president will be the beneficiary.  More recently, with the decline in state funding, the Southern community has come to see that advancement is a University-wide responsibility, and many are eager to play a more extensive role.  Dr. Joe Bertolino, Southern’s new president, is an experienced and effective fundraiser and community leader.  The new vice president will not only have his strong support, but also find in him a valuable partner and asset. 

Founded in 1893 as New Haven Normal School, the University has evolved into a modern, urban, diversified center of higher learning serving 10,207 students with excellent undergraduate and graduate programs. Southern is one of four comprehensive universities in the 17-member Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system. Its five schools – the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, the School of Education, the School of Health and Human Services, and the School of Graduate Studies, Research, and Innovation – offer more than 225 academic programs, leading to bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as sixth-year professional diplomas and doctoral degrees in educational leadership, nursing education, and social work. Complementing the schools are a recently-expanded library, a state-of-the-art science building, and several nationally-recognized academic centers. 

The Vice President for Institutional Advancement reports directly to the President and is a member of the President’s Cabinet as well as the Executive Director of the SCSU Foundation.   The Institutional Advancement Division, which the vice president supervises, includes annual giving, major gifts, alumni relations, Foundation support, and integrated communications and marketing and consists of a staff of 26.  With the approach of Southern’s 125th anniversary, the University is preparing for a major campaign in which the new vice president will play a critical role.

The ideal candidate for the position will have excellent fundraising skills and a record of success in donor cultivation and closing major gifts; a record of providing effective leadership to an advancement unit; experience with developing a major capital campaign; and an understanding of academic culture and shared governance. 

The new vice president will be expected to provide leadership to the Institutional Advancement Division and ensure that it is well prepared for a major campaign.   The new vice president will also have to develop the communication and organizational structures to ensure that the many partners at Southern are integrated into the advancement effort and understand their roles and receive the information and professional development they will need to be effective.   

For further information and instructions to applicants, go to http://www.agbsearch.com/searches/vice-president-for-institutional-advancement-southern-connecticut-state-university.  

For fullest consideration, applications should be received by April 2, 2018

Nominations and inquiries are welcomed and should be directed to:

Robert Holyer, PhD

Executive Search Consultant

AGB Search

robert.holyer@agbsearch.com

804-359-9370

804-402-6736 (c)

Southern is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer. The University seeks to enhance the diversity of its faculty and staff. People of color, women and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.