Executive Director for Reunion and Annual Campaigns
Faculty of Arts and Sciences Development
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
http://www.harvard.edu/
http://alumni.harvard.edu/college/college-giving/hcf
Send Nominations or Cover Letter and Resume to:
Lisa Vuona
Vice President
617-262-1102
[email protected]
The Opportunity:
“Universities nurture the hopes of the world: in solving
challenges that cross borders; in unlocking and
harnessing new knowledge; in building cultural and
political understanding; and in modeling environments
that promote dialogue and debate... The ideal and
breadth of liberal education that embraces the
humanities and arts as well as the social and natural
sciences is at the core of Harvard’s philosophy.”
Drew Gilpin Faust in an address to the Royal Irish
Academy, June 30, 2010
HARVARD UNIVERSITY BACKGROUNDER | 1
With an enduring dedication to the pursuit of excellence, Harvard University offers unparalleled student
experiences across a broad spectrum of academic environments, including undergraduate, graduate, and
professional schools.
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences includes the College, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Harvard
Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Harvard seeks to set the standard for
residential liberal arts and sciences education
in the 21st century. It is committed to creating
and sustaining the conditions that enable all
Harvard students to experience an
unparalleled educational journey that is
intellectually, socially,
and personally transformative.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
(GSAS) is the only Ph.D. granting school at Harvard, preparing emerging scholars in 56 programs
across all disciplines.

The Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) is the newest school at
Harvard, transitioning from a Division in 2007. SEAS faculty teach in seven different areas, with a
multi-disciplinary approach to collaboration and research.
The Harvard College Fund was founded in 1926 by College alumni dedicated to supporting students and
faculty through philanthropy. Over the past 90 years, the Harvard College Fund’s mission has expanded to
raise funds for all of the schools under the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Reporting to the Senior Executive Director for Individual Giving, FAS Development, the Executive Director for
Reunion and Annual Campaigns is responsible for the Harvard College Fund’s Reunion and Annual
Campaigns department. The Reunion and Annual Campaigns department encompasses College reunion
fundraising campaigns, annual giving campaigns, Parent Engagement Programs, and the Graduate School
Fund. On average, the department supports the ongoing work of 2,000+ volunteers across generations and
regions and serves as key partners in hundreds of leadership and major gift solicitations annually.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY BACKGROUNDER | 2
Position Overview – Executive Director for Reunion and Annual
Campaigns, Harvard College Fund, FAS Development
As a key member of the FAS Individual Giving senior management team comprising Reunion and Annual
Campaigns, Capital Giving, Planned Giving, and Principal Giving, this position is responsible for the
management and mobilization of the Harvard College Fund’s Reunion and Annual Campaigns department
(RAC).
RAC operates in a matrixed business environment and oversees programs that play an integral role in
catalyzing and securing major gifts, principal gifts, and planned gifts. As a result, the Executive Director is
expected to coordinate and collaborate across all business units within FAS Development with an emphasis
on the units within Individual Giving, including Capital Giving and Planned Giving.
This role requires a high level of organization, professionalism, excellent communication skills, and
sophisticated and comprehensive development and management experience. The Executive Director will
participate in the recruitment and solicitation of alumni and parent volunteer leadership. This position
requires the ability to integrate FAS Development departmental goals and activities into the work of the RAC
team. The Executive Director will be responsible for understanding the goals and objectives of the Faculty of
Arts and Sciences, and of the entire Harvard Alumni Affairs and Development (AA&D) enterprise and will
work in partnership with multiple stakeholders to achieve those goals. The Executive Director must be able
to set long-term strategic plans and annual goals and objectives for each area within the department.
This position oversees a fundraising staff of approximately 33 employees. The Executive Director is
responsible for the supervision and management of a leadership team, identifying employee needs,
providing advice and counsel to managers, supervisors, and staff on AA&D policies and development
procedures, and communicating and collaborating on development strategies and planning across a multitiered development office and across schools and departments within the University.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Leadership:
As a member of the FAS Individual Giving leadership team, this individual contributes to the development
and execution of long-term strategic fundraising plans for the Faculty of Arts & Sciences. This position is
responsible for translating organization goals into actionable annual plans for the RAC department with a
keen focus on managing staff and budgetary resources efficiently to drive activity resulting in long-term,
sustainable, fundraising achievement for the FAS.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY BACKGROUNDER | 3

Leads a management team responsible for developing departmental plans in support of larger FAS
Development and School goals.

Works with direct reports to translate strategic plans into actionable and measurable annual goals
for RAC department.

Oversees the development of effective tools and systems for recruiting, training, and managing a
large-scale volunteer-powered fundraising program.

Drives ongoing staff training and education to strengthening fundraising skills, disseminating
information, and building an effective team culture.

Fosters a positive culture of trust and collaboration with a strong commitment to staff development.

Demonstrates a deep and abiding commitment for the mission of Harvard and a healthy respect for
the history and traditions of the Harvard College Fund.

Drives continuous improvement in operations by actively seeking new ideas internally and externally.
Leads staff through periods of critical reflection to identify areas for improvement.
Staff Management:

Develops actionable and measurable goals for his/her direct reports.

Provides input to his/her direct reports in the development of actionable and measurable goals for
all members of the RAC unit.

Plans and organizes department staff meeting, retreats, and staff training sessions to ensure staff
knowledge of key priorities and activities of FAS Development.

Works with managers, Human Resources, and AA&D Education and Training to develop training and
professional development opportunities for RAC staff.
Volunteer Management:

Takes a leadership role in creating and cultivating a diverse pipeline of volunteer fundraising leaders
on behalf of FAS. Nurtures connections and relationships across key audiences and gathers insights
into Harvard’s alumni, parent, faculty, and staff communities. Serves as an incubator for new
platforms and initiatives to promote philanthropy and engagement. Drives strategies for annual
donor recognition societies and related stewardship experiences.

Serves as the primary driver of activity and engagement for the HCF Executive Committee, the
central volunteer leadership board for the Harvard College Fund. Leads strategy for moving the work
of the committee forward and communicates progress and plans across appropriate audiences.

Works with the Executive Director, Campaign and Volunteer Management, to coordinate the activity
of the HCF Executive Committee with the efforts of other volunteer committees and to ensure
communication and alignment with prospect strategies developedby individual fundraisers across
the FAS and AA&D.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY BACKGROUNDER | 4

Oversees and facilitates volunteer training and support. Ensures staff and volunteer alignment with
FAS campaign priorities. Develops approaches to continuously improve the experience and
productivity of volunteer solicitors.

Develops strategies for engaging traditionally underrepresented groups as volunteers and donors
with particular attention paid to women, racial and ethnic minorities, emerging leaders, and new
constituencies who have assembled through social media or other emerging technologies.
Solicitations and Volunteer Recruitment:

Supervises the management of officers who drive alumni and parent volunteer committees.

Monitors and evaluates reunion and annual fundraising campaign achievement throughout the year.

Provides input into the development of campaign fundraising plans and individual prospect
strategies in conjunction with colleagues across FAS Development.

Monitors new prospect identification, solicitations, and volunteer committee activities. Works with
Prospect Management and the Executive Director, Capital Giving to help and develop a pipeline of
future Capital Giving prospects identified through reunion and annual campaign activity.

Where appropriate, as determined by an individual prospect strategy, participates or drives volunteer
recruitment and individual gift solicitations.

Develops and implements cultivation and solicitation strategies for a small portfolio (< 20
households) of leadership and capital giving prospects.
Campaign and Staff Collaboration:

Fosters an effective and collaborative relationship between RAC unit and units across FAS
Development to ensure efforts are integrated and aligned, particularly with respect to Direct
Marketing, Communications, Research, Donor Relations, Events, Stewardship, Gift Processing,
Planned Giving, Capital Giving, Principal Giving, and Human Resources.

Works closely with the Executive Director, Capital Giving to ensure reunion campaign and individual
prospect solicitation strategies are coordinated to drive optimal fundraising achievement.

In partnership with the Executive Director of Communications and Donor Relations and Senior
Associate Director of FAS Donor Engagement, actively manages reunion and annual giving
recognition societies, including the 1636 Society, the Associates Program, and the Harvard Yard
Society. Supports the John Harvard Society through volunteer training and deployment.

Works closely with Communications team on direct marketing and digital marketing solicitation and
engagement strategies.

Works closely with operations to ensure appropriate use of systems and technology and to
anticipate and manage projects that require close collaboration between teams.

On behalf of FAS Development, partners with the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) to identify and
leverage opportunities to engage and cultivate alumni and parent audiences. Works to engage and
inform the widest possible alumni and parent audience, advance leadership development, and
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provide portals for deeper connections with Harvard and the FAS by creating synergistic
programming and reducing barriers to engagement.
Other:

Travels as necessary to further prospect and volunteer relationships, including for solicitations or
recruitment. May also accompany officers on visits in a mentoring or evaluative role and may staff
senior administrators or faculty.

Other duties, not explicitly listed above, may be expected in the normal course of achieving the
objectives of FAS Development.
Basic Qualifications:
Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college. Minimum ten (10) years of experience as a seasoned
fundraising professional or related field with a successful track record as a leader, manager, and strategist in
a complex organizational environment.

The position requires a minimum of five (5) years of management experience with a proven ability to
motivate, engage, and work with staff, donors, and volunteers, as well as academic leaders and
faculty.

Strong public speaking, presentation, and written communication skills required.
Additional Qualifications:

This position requires a sophisticated and comprehensive understanding of Annual and Major Gifts
principles and practices, extremely high levels of professionalism, collegiality, self-motivation,
organization, and familiarly with the goals and objectives of the Harvard FAS and, and of the entire
Harvard Alumni Affairs and Development organization.

Must have the ability to respect the best of Harvard’s traditions, while helping to introduce
innovative concepts and initiatives to meet a changing landscape. Possessing a strong commitment
to continuous improvement and a demonstrated ability to facilitate and inspire organizational
improvement.

Graduate degree preferred.

University administration or related transferable experience preferred.

Ability to understand and work within a complex environment juggling many program components.

Proven ability to evaluate staff and to motivate and inspire peak performance from teams and
individuals.

Must have outstanding organization skills and solid analytical skills. Must be motivated to learn and
flexible to change. Must be creative and proactive yet disciplined, discriminating, and able to
HARVARD UNIVERSITY BACKGROUNDER | 6
streamline and prioritize work volume. Must have ability to think strategically and conceptually,
manage multiple projects simultaneously and handle difficult situations with a positive attitude.

As the leader of a team central to FAS’s fundraising achievement, a demonstrated track record of
personal success in leadership, and annual and major gifts solicitations, as well as high-level
volunteer recruitment and campaign management are strongly preferred.
Additional Information:

This position will travel between 10% - 20% of their time.

This role will have a 6-month probationary period.

Recruitment will also need to process background checks in advance of finalizing an offer of
employment.
Development Overview
The FAS Development team has 400 members and is comprised of
Individual Giving, Campaign and Volunteer Management, Faculty
Affairs and Developing Planning, Communications and Donor
Relations, and Finance and Administration. Collectively, they raised
$334M in FY2016.
The Harvard Campaign for Arts and Sciences:
In 2013, FAS launched the $2.5 billion Harvard Campaign for Arts and Sciences, as part of the University’s
$6.5 billion Campaign, focused on six priorities:

DEAN’S LEADERSHIP FUND
The Dean’s Leadership Fund provides unrestricted funds that can be used immediately and flexibly,
giving Harvard the capacity to continue as a place of discovery.
 FACULTY AND OUR SCHOLARLY ENTERPRISE
Harvard brings together the brightest minds across an unparalleled landscape of disciplines, with
unrivaled resources and the freedom to explore fearlessly, think creatively, and act boldly.

FINANCIAL AID
Bringing the best and brightest young scholars to campus and helping them to thrive, no matter their
backgrounds, is the foundation of Harvard’s excellence. 
HARVARD JOHN A. PAULSON SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCES
HARVARD UNIVERSITY BACKGROUNDER | 7
Harvard is rethinking and dramatically expanding the place of engineering in higher education and
reimagining the role of engineers in society. 
HOUSE RENEWAL AND THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE
The Houses are among Harvard’s most important learning places, where undergraduates, graduate
students, and faculty live, work, and learn together. 
LEADING IN LEARNING
Like nowhere else in higher education, Harvard is exploring, innovating, experimenting, and leading
change in how faculty teach and students learn.
Client Overview
Harvard is the oldest institution of higher
education in the United States. The University is
made up of 11 principal academic units – ten
faculties and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced
Study. The ten faculties oversee schools and
divisions that offer courses and award academic
degrees. It has about 2,400 faculty members and
more than 10,400 academic appointments in
affiliated teaching hospitals. Harvard College
has about 6,700 students, and graduate and
professional students at the University total
approximately 14,500.
The University has nearly 370,000 living alumni, over 271,000 in the U.S., nearly 52,000 in some 201 other
countries. Among them are 47 Nobel Laureates, 32 heads of state, and 48 Pulitzer Prize winners.
The University is experimenting with new educational models in experiential learning and online platforms,
such as edX, cofounded in 2012 with nearby MIT.
The Harvard Library – the largest academic library in the world – includes 20.4 million volumes, 180,000
serial titles, an estimated 400 million manuscript items, 10 million photographs, 124 million archived web
pages, and 5.4 terabytes of born-digital archives and manuscripts. Access to this rich collection is provided
by nearly 800 library staff members who operate more than 70 separate library units.
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Harvard has the largest university endowment at nearly $36 billion. In June 2015, Harvard received the
largest gift in its history, $400 million to the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
The Crimson compete in NCAA Division I athletics.
Harvard FAS:
Founded in 1890, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
(FAS) is the largest division of Harvard University. The
Faculty of Arts and Sciences is dedicated to being at
the forefront of teaching, learning, and fostering
cutting edge research and discovery.
FAS comprises Harvard College and the Graduate
School of Arts and Sciences, including undergraduate
and graduate admissions; the School of Engineering
and Applied Sciences; and the Division of Continuing
Education, including the Extension and Summer Schools. FAS also encompasses academic resources such
as libraries and museums, as well as campus resources and athletics.
Harvard College:
As one of the components of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), Harvard College is a close-knit
undergraduate program located within Harvard University. With world-class faculty, a dedication
to affordability, and groundbreaking research opportunities, committed scholars have all the resources they
need to fulfill their academic and personal potential.
Teaching and research are intertwined at Harvard
College – students contribute to research in labs
and libraries and learn from faculty of the highest
caliber. The breadth and depth of
Harvard’s resources, from library and museum
collections to engagement in the arts and
athletics, remain unparalleled in higher education.
At the heart of Harvard College are the Harvard
Houses, where 98% of students live, learn, and
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work together with faculty, students, and graduate students. These multigenerational communities provide
personal and enriching interactions that shape students both intellectually and socially, while providing a
supportive and manageably sized home inside a larger College and University.
With a 375-year tradition of educating leaders in every endeavor, Harvard College is proud to deliver an
education focused on both knowing and doing, on individual achievement and on meaningful collaboration
in a supportive environment that fosters intellectual risk-taking.
When a student attends Harvard College, s/he becomes a part of the rich, storied history of the nation’s
oldest institutions of higher learning. Harvard has undergone countless changes over the centuries, yet has
always maintained its core as a haven for the world’s most ambitious scholars.
History:
Harvard was founded in 1636 and named for its first donor, the Reverend John
Harvard. It was granted a charter by the Colony of Massachusetts in 1650, under
whose authority the University of today still operates.
For its first 200 years Harvard College followed a curriculum consistent with the
instructional style of the period. It emphasized rhetorical principles, rote learning,
and constant drilling. Harvard’s then-small faculty was distinguished from the
beginning. John Winthrop (A.B. 1732), who held the Hollis Professorship and
taught mathematics and natural philosophy from 1738 to 1779, was one of
America’s greatest men of science in the Colonial era.
Initially established to provide a learned ministry to the colonies, Harvard only later created graduate
programs. The first was medical studies in 1782, followed by law and divinity in 1816 and 1817, respectively.
Under the presidency of Charles William Eliot (1869–1909), the number and variety of classes multiplied, the
lecture system supplanted recitation, and students were permitted a free choice of courses.
Eliot’s successor, A. Lawrence Lowell, believed there was
“too much teaching and too little studying” in Harvard
College. Accordingly, throughout his presidency (1909–
1933), Lowell emphasized scholarship and honors work,
eventually introducing the system of “concentration and
distribution,” together with general examinations and
HARVARD UNIVERSITY BACKGROUNDER | 10
tutorials, which continues essentially unchanged today.
James Bryant Conant (1933-1953) further emphasized the need for breadth by introducing the first General
Education curriculum through his 1945 report General Education in a Free Society, known as the “Red Book.”
When dissatisfaction grew over the General Education program in the 1970s, President Derek Curtis Bok
(1971–1991) oversaw its replacement by the Core Curriculum. While reaffirming the principle that every
Harvard undergraduate should be broadly educated, the Core emphasized ways of knowing, allowing for
students to choose from a range of courses in seven areas.
In 2006, Harvard conducted a review of undergraduate
education, which led to a new focus on study abroad, the
creation of secondary fields, and the new Program in
General Education, which replaced the Core Curriculum in
2013. The new approach to General Education offers
courses that connect in explicit ways what students are
learning in the classroom to the lives they
will lead beyond college.
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 our clients frequently conduct background checks prior to finalizing an
offer.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY BACKGROUNDER | 11
To learn more, call
Lisa Vuona, Vice President at
617-262-1102
or send nominations or cover letter and resume to
[email protected].
All inquiries will be held in confidence.
Setting the Standard in Development Search
420 Boylston Street, Suite 604, Boston, MA 02116
617.262.1102
www.LLLSearches.com
HARVARD UNIVERSITY BACKGROUNDER | 12
Appendix
Leadership for the University and College:
Drew Gilpin Faust
President
Drew Gilpin Faust is the 28th president of Harvard University and the Lincoln Professor of History in
Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
As president of Harvard, Faust has expanded financial aid to improve access to Harvard College for students
of all economic backgrounds and advocated for increased federal funding for scientific research. She has
broadened the University's international reach, raised the profile of the arts on campus, embraced
sustainability, launched edX, the online learning partnership with MIT, and promoted collaboration across
academic disciplines and administrative units as she guided the University through a period of significant
financial challenges.
A historian of the Civil War and the American South, Faust was the founding dean of the Radcliffe Institute
for Advanced Study at Harvard, guiding its transformation from a college into a wide-ranging institute for
scholarly and creative enterprise, distinctive for its multidisciplinary focus and the exploration of new
knowledge at the crossroads of traditional fields.
Previously, Faust served as the Annenberg Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, where she
was a member of the faculty for 25 years.
Raised in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, Faust went on to attend Concord Academy in Massachusetts. She
received her bachelor's degree from Bryn Mawr College in 1968, magna cum laude with honors in history,
and her master's degree (1971) and doctoral degree (1975) in American civilization from the University of
Pennsylvania.
She is the author of six books, including "Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in
the American Civil War" (University of North Carolina Press, 1996), for which she won the Francis Parkman
Prize in 1997. Her most recent book, "This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War"
(Alfred A. Knopf, 2008), looks at the impact of the Civil War's enormous death toll on the lives of 19thcentury Americans. It won the Bancroft Prize in 2009, was a finalist for both a National Book Award and a
Pulitzer Prize, and was named by The New York Times one of the "10 Best Books of 2008." "This Republic of
HARVARD UNIVERSITY BACKGROUNDER | 13
Suffering" is the basis for a 2012 Emmy-nominated episode of the PBS American Experience documentaries
titled "Death and the Civil War," directed by Ric Burns.
Faust has been a trustee of Bryn Mawr College, the Andrew Mellon Foundation, and the National
Humanities Center, and she serves on the educational advisory board of the Guggenheim Foundation. She
has served as president of the Southern Historical Association, vice president of the American Historical
Association, and executive board member of the Organization of American Historians and the Society of
American Historians. Faust has also served on numerous editorial boards and selection committees,
including the Pulitzer Prize history jury in 1986, 1990, and 2004.
Her honors include awards in 1982 and 1996 for distinguished teaching at the University of Pennsylvania.
She was elected to the Society of American Historians in 1993, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1994, and the American Philosophical Society in 2004.
Faust is married to Charles Rosenberg, one of the nation's leading historians of medicine and science, who is
the Ernest E. Monrad Research Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard. Faust and Rosenberg have two
daughters, Jessica Rosenberg, a 2004 summa cum laude graduate of Harvard College, and Leah Rosenberg,
Faust’s stepdaughter, a scholar of Caribbean literature.
Rakesh Khurana
Danoff Dean of Harvard College
Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development,
Professor of Sociology and Faculty Dean of Cabot House
“We want to ensure that we are providing students with a deeply transformative experience – intellectually,
socially, and personally – that will prepare them for a life of citizenship and leadership. With this aim, Harvard
College should and will set the standard for undergraduate liberal arts and sciences education for the next
hundred years.”
Rakesh Khurana, professor of sociology and organizational behavior at Harvard University, and Faculty Dean
of Cabot House, became dean of Harvard College on July 1, 2014.
A distinguished scholar of organizational behavior and leadership, an award-winning teacher, and a Faculty
Dean, Khurana has been deeply involved in undergraduate issues throughout his time at Harvard, having
served on a number of important policy committees.
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Khurana’s research uses a sociological perspective to focus on the processes by which elites and leaders are
selected and developed. He has written extensively about the CEO labor market and business education.
In 2000, Khurana was appointed to the HBS faculty, and was named the Marvin Bower Professor of
Leadership and Development in 2008. He and his wife, Stephanie (M.B.A., M.P.P.’96), became Faculty Deans
of Cabot in 2010, where they continue to serve and live with their three children.
He has also been recognized for his commitment to pedagogy, twice earning the Charles M. Williams Award
for Excellence in Teaching (2008, 2012) and being nominated in 2013 for the Star Family Prize for Excellence
in Advising. He has also co-edited “The Handbook for Leadership Theory and Practice” (2010) and “The
Handbook for Teaching Leadership” (2012), seminal texts on leadership theory and pedagogical practice.
As a member of the Harvard community, Khurana led or served on a number of policy-making panels,
including committees on Academic Integrity, Campus Culture, and the Alcohol and Other Drug Services. In
2011-2012, he co-chaired the Committee on Harvard College Alcohol Policy. Most recently, he served on the
task force charged with recommending policies related to the privacy of electronic communications
conducted at Harvard.
Khurana received his B.S. from Cornell University, and began graduate studies at Harvard in 1993, earning
his Ph.D. in 1998 through a joint program between Harvard Business School (HBS) and the Graduate School
of Arts and Sciences (GSAS).
He taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology between 1998 and 2000. Prior to graduate school, he
worked as a founding team member of Cambridge Technology Partners.
Leadership for Alumni Affairs and Development:
Tamara Elliott Rogers AB ‘74
Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Development
A graduate of Harvard College, Tamara Elliott Rogers assumed the position of Vice President for Alumni
Affairs and Development on October 1, 2007. Prior to that, she was the Associate Dean for Advancement
and Planning at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Rogers’s career at Harvard includes serving as
Associate Director of University Development and Director of University Capital Projects, Director of Major
Gifts for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Director of International Admissions in the Office of
Undergraduate Admissions. She has been a consultant in the Not-for-Profit and Education Practice of the
global executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles.
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Rogers’s volunteer activity has also been dedicated to education. She has also served as a member of the
American selection committee of the United World Colleges, a group of international secondary schools.
She is past president of the Phillips Academy (Andover, MA) Alumni Council, and past president of the
Abbot Academy Association. In spring 2014 she was appointed a Charter Trustee of the Board of Phillips
Academy.
She lives in Cambridge with her husband Tony Rogers; they have three grown children and four
granddaughters.
Robert B. Cashion AB ’81, P ’13, P ‘17
Senior Associate Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Development
Bob Cashion is the Senior Associate Vice President, Alumni Affairs and Development. In this capacity, he
oversees the activity of the University Development Office and the Development Services Groups.
Over the years, Bob has held various positions at Harvard. For six years Bob was part of the Faculty of Arts
and Sciences Development Office serving as a major gift officer, a planned giving officer, Director of Major
Gifts, and Director of Development.
Previously, Bob was a Senior Vice President for the investment-banking firm of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette,
where he worked for more than seven years. He also served as Assistant Dean of Freshmen in Harvard
College for two years in the mid-1980s and was an Admissions Officer for Harvard-Radcliffe for five years
before that.
Just prior to joining the UDO in 2004, Bob and his family spent a year living in Grahamstown, South Africa.
Prior to that, he was the Vice President for Development at City Year.
Bob holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and an MBA from the University of Virginia. Bob is
married to Carol Jackson Cashion and they have three children. They live in Winchester, MA.
Chris Grugan
Senior Executive Director of Individual Giving for
the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS)
Chris Grugan, Senior Executive Director of Individual Giving for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) at
Harvard University is a veteran of multiple successful ten-figure comprehensive campaigns at three major
Research I institutions. Chris joined Harvard during its current record-setting campaign in March of 2016. In
HARVARD UNIVERSITY BACKGROUNDER | 16
his current role, Chris is responsible for leading the fundraising efforts for the FAS including the Harvard
College Fund Reunion and Annual Campaigns team, Capital Giving, Planned Giving, and Principal Gifts.
Prior to his current role, Chris was the Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Relations at the Boston
University Questrom School of Business. As Associate Dean, Chris launched and led the business school’s
campaign as part of Boston University’s $1B Choose to be Great campaign – BU’s first-ever comprehensive
campaign.
At the Questrom School, Chris was responsible for developing and executing all aspects of the school’s
campaign plan including, developing campaign priorities in support of the school’s strategic plan,
articulating the case for support, building volunteer boards in the U.S. and Asia, and recruiting and
mentoring a high-performing team of development and alumni relations professionals.
With Chris’ leadership, the campaign achieved its original $100M goal nearly two years ahead of schedule.
The campaign resulted in a near quintupling in steady-state cash achievement from the school’s precampaign average and notched a number of notable achievements, including: more than doubling the
number of endowed professorships; establishing the school’s first endowed research institute; and, raising
startup funding for the launch of a new degree program that was cited as one of the most innovative ideas
in business education by a major industry publication. Most notably, Chris was instrumental in securing the
largest gift in Boston University’s history, a $50M commitment, in honor of which the school was renamed
the Questrom School of Business.
After several successful years in corporate sales, Chris began his development career at Tufts University
where, over nearly twelve years and two campaigns, he held numerous positions of increasing responsibility
across annual and major giving.
Chris is a graduate of Colgate University where he was awarded the Sherman Fairchild Fellowship for
research in Geology and rowed Varsity Crew. Chris has also completed graduate work at Tufts University and
training in the field of mediation and conflict resolution.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY BACKGROUNDER | 17