A candidate for Ohio University’s top fundraising position stressed the importance of relationships — both inside and outside the office — as key to advancement at an open forum yesterday.
Lori Lewis, vice president for advancement at Marietta College, is one of OU’s two finalists for its vacant vice president of university advancement position. At a forum that more than 50 people attended, Lewis said she would work to maintain constructive relationships.
“Private giving to higher education had declined 12 percent in 2009; that’s the steepest decline in 50 years,” Lewis said. Although giving saw a small increase in 2010, the climate of the “great recession” has created a “new normal” for higher education advancement, she added.
Lewis pushed face-to-face interaction as the key to keeping money coming to OU.
“Donors solicited by someone they knew and considered a peer were 19 percent more likely to donate,” Lewis said.
The transition to OU would be “very natural,” Lewis said, as her departure would coincide with that of the president of Marietta College. As an alumna of OU, Lewis’ experience includes 19 years of working in education and administration in Athens city and county schools as well as time at OU and Virginia Tech University.
Because of a continued decline in state support, Lewis said she believes the position is even more important.
“It makes our work more critical,” she said. “At a time when we have to figure out how to be more independent … our responsibility is to communicate the importance of that to the university community so everyone understands.”
Relationships with donors require her to do a lot of traveling at Marietta College, and Lewis said that although she has included the use of social media to draw in younger donors, face-to-face meetings remain the backbone of advancement. Younger alumni also need to be engaged before they leave campus, she said.
“Those who give within five years are much more likely to become a major donor,” Lewis said. “… I believe very strongly in donors understanding the impacts of their gifts.”
However, Lewis said she felt the first job of the new vice president would be to repair relationships within the office. Former Vice President for Advancement Howard Lipman left the position for a similar job at another university, and emails and reports later indicated his tenure was marred by complaints of his explosive temper creating a hostile work environment.
“(The staff) has to have a life outside of the office,” Lewis said. “My expectation is not that they will answer my emails over the weekend.”
Vice President for Student Affairs Kent Smith, who is a member of the search committee, said Lewis and co-finalist Bryan Benchoff were very strong contenders for the position. Benchoff’s forum will take place at 3 p.m. April 14 in Baker University Center’s Multicultural Center Multipurpose Room.
“We believe we have two very strong finalists, both of whom could do the job really well,” Smith said. “The president does plan to move as quickly as possible to fill the position. It’s important to fill as soon as possible.”
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