Special Campus Memo: Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations

Dear Grinnellians:

I am pleased to announce that Jaci A. Thiede will be the next Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at Grinnell College. Jaci comes to Grinnell having most recently served as the Vice President for University Advancement at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Prior to her leadership role at Butler, Jaci was the Associate Dean for Alumni Relations and Development at Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law in Chicago, and before that she served as a senior member of the Indiana University Foundation's development division for 10 years. She will begin work at Grinnell on July 31.

I am grateful to Jayn Bailey Chaney '05 and Adam Laug for their service as Interim Co-Leaders for Development and Alumni Relations over the course of the past year, as we have searched for our new vice president. They have provided exceptional leadership service to the College and their colleagues, all the while fulfilling their other advancement roles: Jayn as Director of Alumni and Donor Relations; Adam as Director of Development. Please join me in recognizing them for their special efforts.

Jaci will be joining the College as we prepare for our first comprehensive fundraising campaign in 20 years. As a member of the senior leadership team, Jaci will provide strategic vision and direction for all fundraising, alumni relations, and stewardship activities. She will be responsible for designing and implementing policy and programs that maximize personal engagement and cultivate the next generation of donors to Grinnell while maintaining and strengthening ties to existing donors.

In addition to managing a staff of more than 40, Jaci will participate in the identification, cultivation, and solicitation of principal and major gifts, and will become an active and visible member in the local and college community. She will play a central role in enhancing the visibility and fundraising capabilities of the College, ensuring Grinnell's position at the forefront of liberal arts education.

Jaci brings extensive advancement, development, campaign, and alumni relations experience to our strategic priority of ensuring financial sustainability while providing access, maintaining intergenerational equity, and living our values. She has more than 20 years of professional experience in higher education advancement work and campaign consulting.

While at Butler, Jaci led efforts that resulted in recording the first and third highest fundraising totals in the university's history. She helped to develop cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies that resulted in the largest individual gift in Butler's history, and increased overall annual giving by 24 percent over two years.

Jaci holds a bachelor's degree from Indiana University in Bloomington, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

I look forward to the leadership expertise and broad experience she will bring to her role as Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations. Please join me in welcoming Jaci to Grinnell.

Sincerely,

Raynard Kington
President