PRESS RELEASES

Bryant Group Selected to Recruit the Associate Vice President for Advancement Services for the University of Nevada, Reno

Dallas-based executive search and talent development firm Bryant Group, has been selected to recruit the Associate Vice President for Advancement Services for the University of Nevada, Reno. Bryant Group’s Sarah Hempen, Vice President of Search, is spearheading the assignment for the search firm.

“We’re looking for a transformational leader who can modernize the University of Nevada, Reno Foundation advancement operations while building the strategy, relationships and systems that will fuel the university’s next chapter,” said Tracy Ostrem, Vice President for University Advancement. “This role offers the rare opportunity to architect a comprehensive advancement services program from the ground up. For the right candidate, this isn’t just a position—it’s a platform to redefine what’s possible in higher education advancement.”

The successful candidate is instrumental in supporting the university’s mission through forward-thinking, data-driven decision-making and innovation, including a strategic adoption of AI and emerging technologies. The successful candidate will demonstrate collaborative leadership and a growth mindset, including strategic adoption of AI and emerging technologies. The AVP will foster a culture of service excellence and operational efficiency while advancing a robust, sustainable infrastructure to deepen engagement with alumni, donors and friends of the university.

The AVP will lead and oversee the university’s advancement services department by ensuring research and prospect management identify high-potential donors, overseeing the timely and accurate recording of all donations by gift services, ensuring efficacy of gift compliance and administration, and overseeing the advancement technology team to maintain donor records.

The ideal candidate is a strategic leader that can integrate the core themes of philanthropic eminence and operational excellence into the implementation of the Foundation’s strategic plan. The successful candidate must be able to lead growing teams responsible for Advancement Information Technology, Donor Relations, Finance and Prospect Research—functions essential to the university’s efforts to create a strong fundraising infrastructure in support of growing fundraising aspirations commensurate with R1 flagship status and AAU invitation aspirations.

About University of Nevada, Reno.

Inspiring excellence since 1874, the University of Nevada, Reno was established as Nevada’s land-grant institution. Today, the University is recognized as a Carnegie® Engaged University, a top research institution by the Carnegie® Classification and a top National University by U.S. News & World Report. Opportunity is everywhere you look beginning on the central 290-acre campus filled with nearly 150 years of history and stretches to the Wayne L. Prim Campus, just minutes from the shores of Lake Tahoe, America’s most renowned alpine lake. With more than 250 student organizations, students can connect with peers, mentors and faculty and pursue their personal interests and future career goals on a technologically advanced and welcoming campus.

About University of Nevada, Reno Foundation
The University of Nevada, Reno Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization separate from the University of Nevada, Reno. The Foundation was incorporated in 1981 to provide a mechanism for private individuals, corporations and foundations to make charitable gifts to the University. The Foundation receives, invests and administers funds to benefit the University, while honoring the philanthropic intent of its generous donors.

Advancing Great Leadership
Bryant Group, based in Dallas, Texas, and with associates located across the United States, specializes in executive search and leadership coaching for higher education, healthcare and nonprofits with an emphasis on advancement leaders and other executives. In 1988, Bryant Group founder, Chris Bryant, started one of the country’s first search firms specializing in philanthropy recruitment. Now under the leadership of CEO Sally Bryant, the woman-owned firm has a long history of recruiting, developing and coaching great leaders. Bryant Group has impacted more than 10,000 leaders and served more than 300 organizations across the US and Canada.