Ohio University's vice president for university advancement has made the bittersweet decision to leave the university in the winter for a position in Maryland.
Leonard Raley, the executive director of the Ohio University Foundation, was appointed president and CEO of the University System of Maryland Foundation, tentatively beginning this December.
Raley, who earns $183,400 a year, adds another line to a long list of administrative openings at OU. Openings include four deans, the vice president for student affairs and the vice president for administration positions.
The university will decide on Raley's replacement in the very near future
OU spokesman Jack Jeffrey said.
This is an extraordinary professional opportunity for me that I can't turn down Raley said. This is the only other job I've ever been interested in other than the job I hold here at OU.
The USMF is a nonprofit corporation independent from the University System of Maryland that raises and invests money for the institutions and ensures donors' intentions for higher education are met fully, said William Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland and former president of the Ohio State University.
Raley, a native of Maryland, previously worked for 12 years at the University of Maryland, College Park, under then-president Kirwan as the alumni director and later as an associate vice president for advancement.
He is ideally suited for a position involving external relations and development work because he has such great interpersonal skills he's very smart and people have confidence in him
Kirwan said.
He said the two have worked together for many years and stayed in contact after Raley left to take his positions at OU in 1997.
When USMF President Susan Schwab announced her resignation, the university system relied upon previously collected information to offer Raley the position, he said.
As USMF president, Raley will lead university institutions in need of fundraising assistance, continue the system's strong track record of investment returns and assist Kirwan in allocating as much support from the Maryland state legislature as possible, Raley said.
He also will provide capital campaign assistance for institutions in the system, mostly concerning private donations, he said.
Raley will be responsible for orchestrating USMF's $1.5 billion fundraising campaign and overseeing the foundation's $680 million assets throughout the university's 13 campuses, Kirwan said.
(Raley) has all the most important qualities and has been a very effective vice president of development (at OU)
Kirwan said.
As vice president for university advancement, Raley integrates alumni relations and communications, marketing and developing, he said.
Raley said the highlight of his tenure was the success and completion of the Bicentennial Campaign in 2004, which raised $221 million during some very difficult economic times.
If I have a regret
it's that I'm not going to be able to stay here and help (President Roderick McDavis) advance his agenda and take the university to national prominence
Raley said.
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