Vice President for Principal Giving

Southern Methodist University (SMU) seeks a visionary, entrepreneurial, and highly strategic advancement leader to serve as its inaugural Vice President for Principal Giving (VP). This newly created position represents a significant investment in the future of philanthropy at SMU and reflects the university’s commitment to building a comprehensive principal gifts program capable of supporting its most ambitious academic and institutional priorities. Reporting to Senior Vice President for Development and External Affairs (SVP) Shontel Grumhaus, the VP will play a pivotal role in shaping the university’s philanthropic future while helping define the next era of fundraising excellence at SMU.

Southern Methodist University is experiencing a period of extraordinary momentum and transformation. Under the leadership of President Jay Hartzell and Senior Vice President Grumhaus, the university is reimagining its advancement enterprise and making strategic investments in talent, infrastructure, and organizational capacity. As SMU prepares for its next chapter of campaign planning and philanthropic growth, university leadership recognizes a unique opportunity to elevate principal giving from a collection of individual efforts into a sophisticated, institution-wide strategy capable of securing transformational support for the university’s highest priorities.

While SMU has achieved remarkable fundraising success and consistently outperformed expectations, much of its recent philanthropic growth has been driven through capital projects or other targeted initiatives. The university now seeks to build a more intentional principal giving program focused on advancing major academic priorities, supporting bold institutional initiatives, and cultivating the university’s most significant philanthropic partnerships. The institution is uniquely positioned to elevate its philanthropic trajectory. With ambitious academic priorities, a deeply engaged community of supporters, and significant untapped potential among its most generous constituents, SMU is poised to build a principal gift program of national distinction.

The VP will have the rare opportunity to further establish and significantly elevate a principal gifts enterprise. Working closely with university leadership, deans, advancement colleagues, and key volunteer partners, the successful candidate will develop a comprehensive approach to identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors capable of making transformational investments. The VP will serve as a strategic partner to the president and senior leadership team, help shape campaign priorities and philanthropic messaging, and establish the frameworks that connect donor interests to the university’s most impactful opportunities. The VP will also lead and develop a growing team of principal gift professionals, creating a culture of ambition, collaboration, and accountability while elevating the team’s capacity to pursue increasingly transformative philanthropic opportunities.

This role arrives at a particularly exciting moment. SMU’s forthcoming strategic plan will articulate an ambitious vision for the institution’s future, accompanied by significant philanthropic priorities across multiple areas of the university. The VP will be instrumental in translating those aspirations into philanthropic priorities, building a sustainable principal gift pipeline, and helping position SMU for unprecedented and sustainable fundraising success. As a member of a collaborative and evolving leadership team, this individual will also serve as a thought partner in shaping campaign strategy, strengthening advancement operations, and building a culture of excellence, accountability, and innovation across the growing division.

The successful candidate will be an accomplished principal gifts professional and collaborative leader who combines strategic vision with operational discipline. This individual will bring a record of securing transformational gifts, experience leading within complex organizations, and the ability to navigate confidently among highly influential donors, senior academic leaders, and institutional volunteers. Most importantly, the incoming VP will be energized by the opportunity to build, helping to establish the structures, partnerships, and philanthropic ambitions that will define principal giving at SMU for years to come.

Jack Gorman is leading this search with Nicole Poe and Lisa Clayton.

Southern Methodist University will not discriminate in any employment practice, education program, education activity, or admissions on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, genetic information, or veteran status. SMU’s commitment to equal opportunity includes nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.