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Advancement Committee

The Advancement Committee (Committee) is established in the Bylaws as a standing committee of the Board of Trustees. The Committee is responsible for overseeing policies and issues related to university advancement, including development, alumni affairs, and fundraising.

Committee Members, 2023-2025

  • Betsy A. Mangone, Chair
  • Korey Neal, Vice Chair
  • Jack C. Cassell
  • Pamela N. Deese
  • Marc N. Duber
  • Hani M.S. Farsi
  • Mehdi Heravi
  • Alan L. Meltzer
  • Matthew S. Pittinsky
  • Thomas W. Merrill, Faculty Trustee

Resource Persons

Cabinet Member:
Vice President of University Advancement
Campus Representatives:
Alumni Association
Deans
Faculty Senate
Staff Council
Graduate Leadership Council
Student Bar Association
Student Government

CHARTER

Purpose

The Advancement Committee (Committee) is established in the Bylaws as a standing committee of the Board of Trustees. The Committee is responsible for overseeing policies and issues related to university advancement, including development, alumni affairs, and fundraising.

Organization

  1. Membership/Structure. Pursuant to the Bylaws (Article VII, Other Standing Committees) and the Board Policies (Article IX, Election of Committee Officers and Members), the Advancement Committee shall consist of four or more trustees nominated by the Trusteeship Committee and approved by the Board of Trustees. The Chair and Vice Chair(s) of the Committee shall be nominated by the Trusteeship Committee and approved by the Board of Trustees.
  2. Staff Designee. The Vice President of University Advancement shall be responsible for staffing the Committee.
  3. Meetings. Meetings shall be held in conjunction with regularly scheduled meetings of the Board, or as deemed advisable by the Chair of the Committee.
  4. Agenda, Minutes and Reports. The Chair of the Committee, in collaboration with the Staff Designee, shall be responsible for establishing the agendas for meetings of the Committee. An agenda, together with relevant materials, shall be sent to the Committee members in advance of each meeting. Minutes for all meetings shall be prepared in draft form by the Staff Designee and reviewed by the Chair and shall be approved by the Committee members at the following meeting. The general session minutes shall be available for review by any member of the Board of Trustees. The closed executive session minutes shall be available for review by any voting member of the Board of Trustees. The Committee shall make regular reports to the Board of Trustees.
  5. Review of Charter. The Committee shall conduct a self-assessment and review its charter on a periodic basis, or as required by Board policy.

Roles and Responsibilities

Guided by the University's mission and its strategic plan, the Advancement Committee is charged with supporting and monitoring the University’s key strategic efforts related to advancing the priorities of the University through active involvement with university advancement, including development, alumni, and fundraising. The Committee leads the Board’s engagement on emerging issues, sets priorities, provides guidance, and makes recommendations to the Board of Trustees on University policies and issues related to university advancement, including development, alumni affairs, and fundraising.

To fulfill its purpose, the Committee will:

Within the area of Alumni Affairs:

  • Establish benchmarks for alumni engagement, evaluate current programs and systems in their achievement of those goals, and collaborate with the American University Alumni Board to assess resources allocated to programs that serve and inform alumni; and
  • Host and/or represent the Board at alumni and school-based gatherings.

Within the area of Development:

  • Advocate Board definition and/or endorsement of overall university priorities, laying a clear path for fundraising objectives to be established either annually or in multi-year campaign efforts;
  • Affirm fundraising goals established by the Office of University Advancement to address those priorities, providing advice and counsel to the Executive Committee of the Board regarding new fundraising initiatives or capital campaigns;
  • Provide advice and counsel to the Executive Committee of the Board and the Vice President of University Advancement in his or her representation of the Office of University Advancement's plans and programs, and the financial and personnel and resources available to achieve those goals;
  • Make recommendations to the Trusteeship Committee regarding financial expectations for trustee annual giving and capital campaign commitments;
  • Set benchmarks for trustee involvement in the cultivation and solicitation of other potential donors to the university;
  • Review and evaluate American University Gift Acceptance policies, making recommendations to the Executive Committee or Board for additions or changes to them;
  • Host and/or represent the Board at cultivation and stewardship events of the University; and
  • Ensure that there is a regular review the University’s goals relating to increasing diversity, equity and inclusion as they pertain to the areas for which the Committee has oversight responsibilities, the progress that the University is making in achieving those goals, and actions the Committee and Board of Trustees should consider taking to support the University’s efforts.

Updated July 2024