Vice President, Medical Center Advancement + Senior Associate Vice President for University Advancement, URMC

The University of Rochester seeks an experienced and ambitious Vice President for Medical Center Advancement and Senior Associate Vice President for University Advancement (VP/SAVP) to lead a robust fundraising and engagement program for the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). This is an ideal opportunity for an enterprising advancement professional seeking to build upon the strength of a highly regarded academic medical center at an esteemed institution of higher education. The search commences following the exciting appointment of Dr. David C. Linehan as new CEO and Dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry in February 2024. The University also recently entered a formal quiet phase for a potential $1.5 billion to $2 billion comprehensive campaign.

Founded in 1850, the University of Rochester is one of the nation’s leading research universities and is the cultural, artistic, and educational leader for the region. The University’s motto, Meliora, embodies the goals of the University, which are to “learn, discover, heal, create – and make the world ever better.” A top national academic medical center, URMC forms the centerpiece of the University's biomedical research, teaching, patient care, and community outreach missions. It encompasses UR Medicine, the University’s vast clinical enterprise and home to Upstate New York’s #1 Hospital per U.S. World & News Report; the School of Medicine and Dentistry (SMD); the School of Nursing; and Eastman Institute for Oral Health. The University’s patient care enterprise, UR Medicine, includes the Wilmot Cancer Center, Strong Memorial Hospital, and Golisano Children’s Hospital, the Flaum Eye Institute, along with other affiliate hospitals and clinics in the region. Over the last five years, URMC has garnered more than $1.18 billion in biomedical research funding, landing the University in the top 26th percentile of U.S. medical centers in federal research funding.

Private philanthropic support plays a critical role in the growth and sustainability of the schools, hospitals, and programs that comprise URMC. To that end, the VP/SAVP will lead a strategic advancement operation that will generate philanthropy and engagement to support critical new initiatives, large-scale transformative projects, and investments in new ideas, programs, and partnerships. The VP/SAVP will report directly to Senior VP and Chief Advancement Officer Thomas J. Farrell ’88, ’90W as part of his executive management team, and work in close collaboration with Dr. Linehan—actively engaging him, members of his senior leadership team, and key faculty and physicians in the fundraising and engagement process. Together, they will promote a culture of philanthropy within the URMC community of grateful patients and families, donors, staff members, friends, and alumni. The VP/SAVP will manage a budget of approximately $9.4 million and oversee a 57-person team that works in direct partnership with the University’s integrated Advancement program that has raised an average of $141 million over the past five years. URMC fundraising has averaged $70 million and over 30,000 donors annually. 

The ideal candidate will have at least ten years of leadership and management experience in a complex organization (preferably in academic medicine and/or other healthcare settings); a track record of success securing significant gifts; and the exceptional interpersonal and collaborative skills required to effectively engage key leaders and other members of the larger University of Rochester community in the fundraising process.

Jack Gorman is leading this search with Grace Zakim and Sandeep Kaur.

EOE Minorities / Females / Protected Veterans / Disabled