Senior Vice President for Development

Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) appointed Kristin Davitt as senior vice president of development, effective May 5, 2025. Davitt joins Columbia from the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt), where she serves as the senior vice chancellor for philanthropic and alumni engagement, and chief development officer of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). 

Davitt will lead CUIMC Development efforts to implement comprehensive fundraising strategies, including stewarding principal and transformational gifts for areas including clinical and research programs, endowed professorships, student financial aid, research fellowships, and capital projects. Her career in fundraising, alumni relations, and board engagement spans more than 30 years at academic and non-profit organizations. During Davitt’s tenure leading fundraising for Pitt and UPMC, her Division of Philanthropic and Alumni Engagement secured transformational gifts that led to the naming of the David C. Frederick Honors College and the Orland Bethel Musculoskeletal Research Center and facilitated a $100 million gift from the Richard King Mellon Foundation in support of the Pitt BioForge biomanufacturing facility. Giving for scholarships, faculty support, research, and patient care grew significantly under her leadership.

Prior to joining the University of Pittsburgh in 2017, Davitt served as associate vice president for development for undergraduate programs at the University of Pennsylvania and vice president for development at Brown University. At both institutions, she held leadership roles for multibillion-dollar fundraising campaigns. Before working in higher education, Davitt held positions at several human service nonprofits in Philadelphia. She holds a master’s degree in nonprofit and human services management from Rider University and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University.

Jack Gorman led this search with Grace Zakim and Lisa Clayton.