The new president and CEO of the Ohio University Foundation gave his first update to the Foundation Board of Trustees today.
Bryan Benchoff, formerly the president and CEO of the University of South Dakota Foundation, was named to the position in July. Howard Lipman, former vice president for advancement and OU Foundation CEO, left OU for a similar position at Florida International University at the end of 2010.
Benchoff began his update by discussing the recent hiring of James Hill.
Hill serves as the new associate vice president for development and campaign manager, which Benchoff combined into one position. He started working at OU about a month ago, Benchoff said.
Hill’s was the first of three associate vice president positions that needed to be filled when Benchoff began.
“We were fortunate enough to find someone of his background who in only about four weeks has already had an impact in the Office of Advancement,” Benchoff said.
Benchoff moved on to talk about changes he has helped implement, including a new gift agreement template and updated endowment report.
The biggest change will be in research and project management, which involves the Foundation identifying alumni groups who should be reconnected to the university, he said.
Benchoff ended his report by commending the OU Foundation staff and announcing he plans on reorganizing several positions in the upcoming months as empty positions are filled.
"These folks want to do well,” he said. “They want to embrace change.”
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