Lindauer Leading Chief Engagement Officer Search for Duke University
February 14, 2024 – Lindauer was recently retained by Duke University to lead in its search for a new associate vice president and chief engagement officer. Senior vice president and managing director Jill Lasman and senior consultant Raegan Harvey are leading the assignment. The chief engagement officer a key leadership role within Duke University’s alumni engagement team, will be central to the success of the “Activating the Global Network” initiative. This is a unique opportunity for an authentic leader with a proven track record in effective collaboration to build a different kind of alumni program, fostering a culture of inclusion, innovation, and enduring engagement.
This executive will design and implement myriad alumni and constituent relations strategies, ensuring significant increases in engagement and participation. To succeed, the candidate should possess exceptional interpersonal skills, empathy, and the ability to navigate complex relationships with alumni, staff, and university leaders. They will have the opportunity to build and sustain meaningful connections within a diverse global community, creating a culture of belonging, trust, and collaboration.
Integral to the success of this role is the ability to lead and guide group efforts, inspire teams, and develop a vision for the team’s direction, according to Lindauer. They will be expected to exemplify the university’s guiding principles of respect, trust, inclusion, discovery, and excellence. The position involves managing change effectively, maintaining integrity and ethics, and fostering a knowledge- and information-rich culture within the organization. They will also serve as a liaison between the alumni engagement and development team and various university constituents, advocating for the priorities and needs of the organization.
Lindauer is looking for candidates with a minimum of 10 years of leadership and operations experience and a successful record of accomplishment of people and program management. They should have a track record of achieving effective collaboration across organizational lines and fostering a culture of inclusion and engagement at all levels of the organization.
Those applying should also have experience designing, implementing, and executing successful alumni and constituent relations strategies that result in significant increases in engagement and participation. They must have proven expertise in the management of finances, operations, systems, facilities, cost efficiencies, and productivity enhancements.
Related: Lindauer Places Chief Advancement Officer for Deerfield Academy
Duke University was created in 1924 by James Buchanan Duke as a memorial to his father, Washington Duke. Located in Durham, NC, it has a total undergraduate enrollment of 6,640. Undergraduates have access to four academic schools including Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, and the Sanford School of Public Policy. Graduate students can enroll in nine graduate and professional schools, including Duke Law School, Fuqua School of Business, and the School of Medicine.
Non-Profit Specialists
Lindauer serves higher and secondary education, hospitals, academic research centers, think tanks, research facilities, and foundations, as well as advocacy, public service, social justice and other mission-driven non-profits. The firm has led searches for the Boston YMCA, Center for Applied Special Technology, Healthy Minds Innovations/Center for Healthy Minds, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Cockrell School of Engineering, among others.
Lindauer Places VP for Inclusive Excellence in Philanthropy for University of Cincinnati Foundation
Lindauer has helped the University of Cincinnati Foundation (UCF) find its inaugural vice president for inclusive excellence in philanthropy. Tammy Bennett was recently hired for the role after serving as chief equity and inclusion officer at national law firm Dinsmore & Shohl. “Tammy has dedicated her professional journey to advancing inclusivity within workplaces,” said Peter Landgren, president. “With a background as an employment attorney and diversity specialist, complemented by her academic exploration of social identities and organizational transformation, she possesses a distinctive skill-set to craft pragmatic and enduring DEIB strategies.”
Deb Taft, chief executive officer, leads Lindauer with over 25 years of executive and senior-level experience across the non-profit sector, from education to healthcare/academic medicine to the youth service and voluntary sectors. Her expertise includes governance, strategic planning, fundraising, program and staff management, strategic marketing, analytics, and constituent engagement, as well as talent recruitment, retention, and development.
Among the most senior members of the firm and equity partner, Ms. Lasman has placed senior leaders and their teams in many major education, healthcare and science, arts and culture, advocacy, and mission-driven institutions since joining the firm in 1998. She has conducted advancement leadership searches for such clients as Princeton University, University of Texas at Austin, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Chicago Law School, and Emory University. Ms. Lasman has also been instrumental in placing multiple high-level candidates in Ivy League and elite colleges, including Cornell University, Columbia University, Harvard University, Georgetown University, and the College of William & Mary, to name a few. In addition, Ms. Lasman has placed individuals for such diverse organizations as American Technion Society, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ms. Harvey brings to Lindauer more than 10 years of experience in non-profit organizations. Her leadership and organizational experience in higher education, athletics, and healthcare includes prospect research, donor relations, alumni engagement, fundraising, strategic planning, and internal and external relations. Prior to joining Lindauer, Ms. Harvey was associate director of athletics, internal operations and chief of staff for Washington State University Athletics.
Related: Lindauer Assists Pacifica Graduate Institute in Recruitment of a New CEO
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor; Lily Fauver, Senior Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
