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
