THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH BACKGROUNDER | 1

Executive Director for Alumni Relations and Constituent Engagement

The University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT

https://www.utah.edu/

The Opportunity:

As the state's flagship institution, The

University of Utah is classified as one of the

highest-ranking universities in the country. A

member of the Pac-12, the University is home

to nine on-campus performance venues, the

finest art and natural history museums in the

state, and top-ranked centers for academic

achievement, innovative technology and

research.

The University of Utah is seeking an energetic

and experienced Alumni Relations leader to

assume the role of Executive Director for Alumni Relations and Constituent Engagement. This individual will

lead a team of 26 alumni, annual giving, and parent giving professionals who will support key initiatives for

current and future alumni support and engagement.

The ideal candidate will be passionate about the mission of academic and alumni excellence and enjoy

collaborating with faculty, alumni, parents, and volunteers to create the vision for impactful multi-

disciplinary initiatives that will unlock the greatest aspirations for its alumni and friends. This position is best

suited for a thoughtful, organized, responsible professional who has a strong work ethic, has a sense of

humor, and is interested in creating and building a special team, mentoring and grooming staff, and

building careers. The University is seeking a leader who will contribute to a culture based on alumni

objectives that are meaningful, challenging, realistic, and metric- and action-oriented.

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The University of Utah is preparing for the launch of a record-breaking capital campaign and they are in the

midst of a comprehensive university-wide feasibility study.

The University of Utah

Located in Salt Lake City, a progressive, urban and high-tech industrial center with a population of 191,000

(the population of Salt Lake County is 1.1 million), The University of Utah is the higher education hub of a

region stretching from the Rockies to the Sierras. Frequently described as Utah’s economic engine, it

generates more than $600M annually in non-tax revenue, is one of the state’s largest employers (with more

than 3,300 faculty and more than 23,000 full-time and part-time employees), and has been a catalyst for a

research corridor through northern Utah that is a hotbed for research and development activities. The

University provides graduate, undergraduate, and professional education to more than 31,000 students from

all 50 states and more than 100 countries.

The University offers nearly 100 major subjects at the

undergraduate level and more than 90 major fields of

study at the graduate level. Its academic divisions

include: The University of Utah is a strong research

center, ranking 36th on the NIH Ranking List of

universities receiving federal funds for research.

Classified by the Carnegie Foundation as one of 50

comprehensive research universities, research is a

major component in the life of the University,

benefiting students as well as the region.

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The University of Utah Facts:

Founded: 1850

Enrollment: 31,860

23,789 Undergraduate

8,071 Graduate

Degree Programs: Undergraduate: 100 major subjects

Graduate: 90 major fields of study

Degrees Awarded: 7,783

5,167 Bachelor’s

1,901 Master’s

715 Doctorate

Faculty: 3,300

Staff: 23,000 full- & part-time

Colleges and Academic Units: https://www.utah.edu/academics/colleges.php

Architecture and Planning

Business

Cultural and Social Transformation

Dentistry

Education

Engineering

Fine Arts

Health

Honors College

Humanities

Law

Medicine

Mines and Earth Sciences

Nursing

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Pharmacy

Science

Social and Behavioral Science

Social Work

Endowment: $1.02B

Operating Budget: $3.7B

The University of Utah Alumni Association

Mission:

The University of Utah Alumni Association is dedicated to forging and preserving lifelong relationships with

alumni, students and the community.

The Past and Future:

With close to 270,000 alumni, The University of Utah Alumni Association

provides ways for alumni to connect with one another, engage in fun and

rewarding activities, foster education and advance their careers. The

Alumni Association was founded in 1886 by a small group of “normal”

teaching alumni—the only graduates the University could claim at the

time (a “normal school” was the term used in the late 1800s and early

1900s for an institution that specialized in training public school

teachers). They wanted to promote general interest in education and

strengthen ties with the University and each other.

Now, after more than 130 years of involvement with the University, the

Alumni Association continues to develop new programs and ways to

serve alumni and students. Guided by a Board of Directors, the

association also has four affiliated boards: the Emeritus Alumni

Board, Young Alumni Board, Student Alumni Board and Beehive Honor Society. The Association also

manages The MUSS student athletics fan club and its board. Each is governed by its own by-laws and is led

by alumni or student volunteer board members.

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The role of the Alumni Association has expanded significantly since its founding. The association has

become an integral part of the University campus community and acts as a bridge to local, national and

international communities. The Alumni Association provides opportunities to participate in community

service projects, raise scholarship funds for students, advocate to the state Legislature on behalf of the

University and higher education, and to join other graduates in alumni chapter activities across the country

and alumni clubs around the world. There are 17 chapters across the country and 11 international clubs.

Membership in the Alumni Association affords special benefits that are available only to dues-paying

members. In turn, members give back to the University and its students by supporting the association’s

initiatives and programs, including the student scholarship fund, which now awards more than $700,000

each year to deserving students.

The Alumni Association is just completing a $11 million campaign for the renovation and expansion of the

Alumni House. The 35,000 square-foot project will be completed in the early summer of 2018.

The University of Utah Advancement

The University of Utah employs 144 development staff and 75 alumni relations staff located in the central

development office, the Alumni Association, the Health Sciences Advancement Office, and in 16 schools and

colleges and 8 cultural units across campus. The chief advancement officer for The University of Utah is the

Vice President of for Institutional Advancement.

The Executive Director will oversee a team of approximately 22 alumni relations staff and four annual giving

and parent staff. Reporting directly to the Executive Director are an Associate Director, two Alumni Relations

Directors, a Manager of Alumni Career Services, a Marketing Director, the Editor of the university magazine,

a Development Specialist, and the Director of Annual Giving. The Executive Director reports to the Vice

President for Institutional Advancement.

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The following chart reflects total philanthropic support of The University of Utah for the past four fiscal

years:

Fiscal Year Number of Donors Total Support

2018 FYTD (10.31.17)) 9,287 $49,799,017

2017 35,054 $215,366,171

2016 35,987 $212,748,327

2015 35,052 $210,019,220

2014 35,398 $204,288,778

The following chart reflects total philanthropic support of University of Utah Health for the past four fiscal

years:

Fiscal Year Number of Donors Total Support

2018 FYTD (10.31.17) 1,685 $15,179,708

2017 6,180 $80,783,808

2016 6,011 $70,298,762

2015 6,363 $62,125,561

2014 6,876 $53,436,355

Position Overview – Executive Director for Alumni Relations and

Constituent Engagement

Working closely with deans, directors, and the central administration, the Executive Director oversees the

University’s alumni and parent engagement programs and activities, annual giving programs, and leads its

Alumni Association. She/he is responsible for engaging alumni and parents with the ultimate goal of

advocacy for and philanthropic support of the university. Included in these responsibilities are staffing, fiscal

accountability, human resource development, quality management, effective programming. The Executive

Director is a key leader in cultivating a community of some 270,000 alumni and parents throughout the

United States and across the globe. This position reports to the Vice President for Institutional Advancement

and is a member of the Vice President’s senior leadership team.

Qualifications:

The Executive Director must be an exceptional communicator with outstanding management and

relationship-building skills, along with the advancement, development, and alumni relations experience and

talent necessary to engage alumni and parents. Must also have a solid understanding of annual giving

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fundraising and current best practices in this area that is considered a critical element of the University’s

alumni and parent engagement efforts. The incumbent must have the ability to perform well in stressful

situations and to handle conflict with poise and diplomacy. Must also have the maturity, perspective, and

credibility necessary to work effectively with philanthropy colleagues, senior university administrators, and

key alumni volunteers.

Applicants must demonstrate the potential ability to perform the essential functions of the job as outlined in

the position description. A minimum of five years higher education experience, ten years preferred; and a

Bachelor’s degree required; graduate degree preferred.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Establish and nurture the association’s mission and values, which are to promote engagement and

lasting relationships with the university that lead to volunteerism, advocacy, and philanthropic

support.

• Hire, retain, mentor, and supervise a team of approximately 26.

• Focus alumni activity around regional and national work, alumni and parent engagement, attention

to affinity and diversity networks, support of student experience from student recruitment to career

development, and the development of closer ties to alumni efforts in individual colleges, athletics

and major institutes and centers at the University.

• Recruit, train, motivate, and retain a professional staff, boards, and volunteers dedicated to the

association’s mission.

• Manage a $3.2M budget and raise approximately $800,000 to support various programs and

priorities. Oversee fund raising programs and events that increase scholarship support for university

students and other institutional priorities. These include the parent fund, annual giving, license plate

revenue, chapter and club giving, and other activities that lead to financial support for scholarships,

among others.

• Create and implement best practices to build a robust annual giving program inclusive of giving

circles, direct mail, phone-a-thon, donor cultivation, and a parent giving program as well.

• Build and cultivate a collaborative and innovative environment for alumni relations, annual giving,

and parent giving.

• Work closely with student enrollment to support the Deans and University’s initiatives.

• Partner with Athletics and the Athletic Director to set priorities for current students and athletic

alumni.

• Establish and nurture strong relationships with deans, directors, and senior administrators across

campus to create a collaborative team environment and to advance alumni and parent engagement

at all levels within the university.

• Strengthen chapters and clubs nationally and internationally.

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National: http://ulink.utah.edu/s/1077/16/interior.aspx?sid=1077&gid=1&pgid=365

International: http://ulink.utah.edu/s/1077/16/interior.aspx?sid=1077&gid=1&pgid=717

• Foster positive relationships with central development and across campus.

• In all relationships with staff, board, volunteers, and university peers exercise the highest standards

of ethics, integrity, and respect.

• Cultivate a culture of inclusion that assures the staff and boards are sensitive to and representative of

the diverse students and alumni of the university.

• Work in collaboration with career services and continuing education on joint priorities to yield

stronger alumni engagement.

• Cultivate a collaborative leadership style that establishes a culture of optimism and a customer-

oriented, solutions focused approach in both internal and external relationships.

• Establish and effectively manage a budget that supports the mission and goals of the University.

• Work collaboratively with University Marketing and Communications in the publication of

Continuum magazine and other print and electronic materials that advance parent and alumni

engagement and philanthropy.

• In concert with other stakeholders, plan and conduct student, parent and alumni events and

activities that increase engagement and philanthropic support. These include annual giving

programs, local, national, and international chapters and clubs, homecoming, legislative advocacy,

Founders Day, and other events and activities as appropriate.

• Strengthen the engagement with the 6,000 MUSS (Mighty Utah Student Section) members.

http://ulink.utah.edu/s/1077/16/interior.aspx?sid=1077&gid=1&pgid=941

• Create a robust student giving and engagement program for current undergraduate and graduate

students.

• Establish and nurture board and volunteer structures that support and advance the association’s

mission and goals. Presently these include boards for the association, young alumni, student alumni,

emeritus alumni, and the Beehive Honor Society.

http://ulink.utah.edu/s/1077/16/interior.aspx?sid=1077&gid=1&pgid=475

• Other duties as assigned by the Alumni Association Board and the Vice President for Institutional

Advancement.

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Leadership

Fred Esplin

Vice President for Institutional Advancement

Fred Esplin is Vice President for Institutional Advancement at The University of

Utah. His responsibilities include oversight of the Alumni Association,

Development, Red Butte Garden, and the University’s public television station.

Prior to his assignment as VPIA, Fred served as the Vice President for University

Relations (marketing, communications, government relations, public

broadcasting, and Red Butte Garden). Much of his early career was in public

broadcasting, where he was manager of KUED Channel 7, having earlier worked

in marketing and development for WITF-TV-FM, the Pennsylvania Public Television Network ,and for PBS in

Washington, D.C. He has degrees from Southern Utah University and The University of Utah, and has taught

courses at The University of Utah and at the Pennsylvania State University.

Esplin has served on boards of Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Utah, the Utah advisory board to the Trust

for Public Lands, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the Utah Shakespearean Festival, the Utah

Humanities Council, the Utah Arts Council and United Way of Salt Lake City. Fred is a first-generation

college student, having grown up in a cattle ranching family in southern Utah.

Joe Sargetakis BA ‘80

President, Board of Directors 2017-2020

The owner of Frog Bench Farms in Salt Lake City, Sargetakis is committed to

providing organic fruits, vegetables, herbs and micro greens for farm-to-table

restaurants in the city. He previously held vice president positions at Paine

Webber and Morgan Stanley. His involvement with the U also includes

membership in the Copper Club at the Natural History Museum of Utah and

being a longtime member of Red Butte Garden. His other volunteer work

includes serving on the boards of the Swaner Nature Preserve, Ronald McDonald

House Charities, and Ducks Unlimited, and being on the founding board of the

Sugar House Farmers Market. As the association’s board president, Sargetakis also serves on the U’s Board

of Trustees.

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Location

Salt Lake City, Utah:

Salt Lake City lies in a mountain valley, with the

Wasatch Mountains to the east and north, rising above

the city to 11,000 feet. The Oquirrh Mountains border

the western edge of the valley. The University of Utah

campus sits on the valley’s east bench, with a backdrop

of towering mountain peaks and captivating views of

the valley and the Great Salt Lake.

A beautiful, safe, and vibrant community, Salt Lake City

combines the amenities of a major metropolitan area

with the friendliness of a small city. With a population of approximately 1 million, the Salt Lake metropolitan

area is listed by national magazines and websites among the “best places to live” due to its recreational

options, the business environment, climate, and low crime rate. The Salt Lake International Airport is just

minutes from downtown and offers non-stop flights to Europe, Mexico, and Asia. The city’s ever-expanding

light rail transit system runs through campus to the University Hospital, the airport, and surrounding areas.

More information about the Salt Lake City area is available at www.visitsaltlake.com and www.ci.slc.ut.us.

More information about the state of Utah is available at www.utah.com.

Background Checks:

Prior to submitting your resume for this position, please read it over for accuracy. LLLS does verify academic

credentials for its candidates, and the University will conduct background checks prior to finalizing an offer.

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To learn more, call

Lisa Abair Vuona, Vice President at

617-262-1102

or send nominations or cover letter and resume to

lvuona@LLLSearches.com.

All inquiries will be held in confidence.

Setting the Standard in Development Search

LOIS L. LINDAUER SEARCHES, LLC

420 Boylston Street, Suite 604, Boston, MA 02116

617.262.1102

www.LLLSearches.com