by Public Relations | Sep 22, 2010 | Staff
You may have recently noticed the name “institutional advancement” around campus and wondered… “Who, what, where and why?” Here is some information to help explain the role of institutional advancement and introduce the advancement team to the Canisius community.
Members of the Division of Institutional Advancement
On July 1, the division formerly known as college relations officially became institutional advancement. “Our name change is an active reflection of what we do,” says Craig T. Chindemi, vice president for institutional advancement. “While each facet of the Canisius community advances the college in its own way, institutional advancement is responsible for securing resources and mobilizing volunteer efforts to ultimately support the faculty and staff in their efforts to make Canisius College the best possible institution for our students, the Western New York community and beyond.”
The name change also reflects that public relations, under the direction of Debra S. Park, associate vice president for public relations, reports directly to the president. In addition, several of the departments within institutional advancement have changed their names. Annual fund is now the Canisius fund; development services is now advancement services; donor relations and special events is now stewardship; and the major gifts team is now comprised of the interim associate vice president for institutional advancement, the director of advancement initiatives, the director of principal gifts and the director of special gifts. Also under the Division of Institutional Advancement is alumni relations, corporate and foundation relations and prospect research. For a complete staff listing of the Institutional Advancement Division, click here.
Finally, for those looking for the institutional advancement team on campus, they can be found in three different locations: the second floor of Lyons Hall (alumni relations and the Canisius fund), 23 Agassiz Circle (the vice president for institutional advancement, the interim associate vice president for institutional advancement, advancement initiatives, advancement services, principal gifts, prospect research, special gifts and stewardship, and now 315 Churchill Tower, where the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations now resides in order to foster increased collaboration between institutional advancement and academic affairs, facilitate cooperation with the Office of Sponsored Programs, and to make corporate and foundation relations more accessible to faculty.
“In the Jesuit spirit of Magis, we look forward to enhancing our partnership with the greater Canisius community in our continuous efforts to advance Canisius College,” says Chindemi.
Submitted by: Erin Hartnett, director of advancement initiatives, institutional advancement
by Public Relations | Sep 22, 2010 | Staff
The Canisius College Division of Institutional Advancement welcomed two new members to its team this fall. Craig T. Chindemi, vice president for institutional advancement, appointed Jennifer Koch, PhD, director of corporate and foundation relations. Lainey Pate ’08 is the new assistant director of events and stewardship.
Koch is responsible for the strategic direction and management of a comprehensive corporate and foundation relations program that will result in financial support for a broad range of departmental, school and college-wide initiatives, but which has a particular emphasis on the priorities of the college’s $90 million comprehensive campaign, A Legacy of Leadership.
She comes to Canisius College with more than 10 years of individual, corporate and foundation fund-raising experience, including seven years in higher education. Most recently, Koch served as manager of corporate, foundation and government relations for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, where she helped secure more than $3.1 million for the organization’s annual fund and more than $275,000 in increased government support.
The Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations is now located in Churchill Tower, Room 315.
“A significant amount of Jennifer’s work involves developing proposals in support of institutional and academic priorities,” explains Scott A. Chadwick, PhD, vice president for academic affairs. “Craig Chindemi brought to me the idea of moving the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations to the main campus. Locating the office in the Churchill Tower will foster increased collaboration between institutional advancement and academic affairs, facilitate cooperation with the Office of Sponsored Programs, and make Jennifer more accessible to our faculty.”
Also new to the institutional advancement team is Lainey Pate. In her role as assistant director of events and stewardship, Pate is responsible for the planning, coordination and execution of college events and functions that support the institutional advancement efforts of Canisius.
A 2008 alumna of Canisius College, Pate most recently served as a branch manager for Citizens Bank in Buffalo. During her tenure, Pate organized a successful sales atmosphere, developed the staff’s operational, sales and product knowledge through weekly training sessions, and assisted customers in finding solutions to their individual financial needs.
As an undergraduate at Canisius College, Pate served two years as the call center manager for the Canisius College annual fund. During this time, she developed and executed incentive strategies to motivate a team of student-callers to achieve monetary and donor goals for the college’s annual fund-raising campaigns. After graduation from Canisius, Pate served as the Young Alumni Chair for the annual fund cabinet, during which time she received two Ray Gordon Awards. Presented annually by the Canisius College Alumni Association, the award is given to individuals who achieve the greatest increase in donor participation and for overall exceptional work on the annual fund.
Pate holds a BA in political science from Canisius College.
Submitted by: Erin Hartnett, director of advancement initiatives, institutional advancement
by Public Relations | Sep 22, 2010 | Staff
Elaine Tyler May, PhD, Regents professor of American studies and history at the University of Minnesota, will speak today (September 22) at 7:30 p.m. in the Grupp Fireside Lounge on her new book, “America and the Pill: A History of Promise, Peril, and Liberation.” The lecture is free and open to the public.
May is a prolific historian and a past president of the Organization of American Historians and the American Studies Association. To read more about her, click here.
Submitted by: Bruce Dierenfield, PhD, professor, history