Post on 28-Apr-2018
EMERSON COLLEGE BACKGROUNDER | 1
Associate Vice President for Alumni Engagement
Emerson College Boston, MA
http://www.emerson.edu
Send Nominations or Cover Letter and Resume to:
Zena Lum
Search Director
617-262-1102, extension 214
zlum@LLLSearches.com
The Opportunity:
In the words of its 12th President, Lee Pelton:
“Emerson’s mission is to educate the
people who will solve problems and
change the world through engaged
leadership in communication and the
arts. It is a mission informed by liberal
learning, recognizing that the world is
still in want of clear-headed citizens,
tempered by historical perspective,
disciplined by rational thinking and
moral compass, who speak well and
write plainly.”
Now, more than ever, the world needs ambitious, independent-minded artists and communicators. It needs
a creative force of writers, performers, media-makers, influencers, marketers and advocates from every
EMERSON COLLEGE BACKGROUNDER | 2
background. It needs daring ideas powerfully expressed. It needs people who work hard to inspire others to
care and to act.
Founded in 1880, Emerson is internationally recognized as the nation’s premier institution of higher learning
devoted to communication and the arts. Energized by engagement with the creative life of Boston, Los
Angeles and the Netherlands, Emerson’s students are independent minds from diverse backgrounds who
develop their own personal voice, talent, and skills in professions that profoundly shape society and culture
in the 21st century.
Emerson College’s fields of specialization
include communication studies, marketing
communication, journalism, communication
sciences and disorders, visual and media arts,
the performing arts, writing, literature, and
publishing. Students may choose from more
than two dozen undergraduate and graduate
programs taught by world-renowned faculty.
The College boasts state-of-the-art equipment
and facilities, from a 1,200-seat Broadway-style
theater to one of the largest installations of
film, video, and audio post-production facilities
of any college in the country. There are also numerous radio, television, and film outlets on campus.
Emerson graduates can be found working in virtually every major media, publishing, entertainment, or arts
enterprise across the United States.
Not only has it become a leading institution of higher learning in communication and the arts, Emerson also
has positively impacted the Boston community with development of its “Campus on the Common.” The
College has been widely credited with palpably reviving this section of the city and bringing to it a new
vitality. In 2017, it is a hub of activity for Bostonians and visitors alike.
Emerson is proud of where it has been and excited for where it is headed. It is on the cusp of thinking even
bigger thoughts than it already does – and you can help realize this potential. If you possess the drive and
strategic expertise to transform, inspire action and empower students and alumni to invest of their time,
talent, and treasure in shaping Emerson’s future, you could play a leading role in building an even greater
culture of philanthropy to fuel this creative force in the fields that shape our society, culture, and future.
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Position Overview – Associate Vice President for Alumni Engagement
As a member of Emerson College’s institutional advancement leadership team, the associate vice president
for alumni engagement will work with influential figures to promote a positive view of the College and
deepen alumni affinity and philanthropy through traditional and new media channels, events and other
innovative initiatives.
This is a new position and an exciting opportunity for the consummate communicator, storyteller, and
strategic alliance builder, and requires strong strategic marketing, leadership, and diplomacy skills. A priority
for the Associate Vice President will be to increase alumni participation and create a strategy that builds
long-term, sustainable alumni support through the various stages of their Emerson connection as students,
recent graduates, and annual fund supporters, and to help establish the foundation for further major gift
and legacy support. To do so, the Associate Vice President will work in close partnership with all aspects of
the division, including the offices of marketing and communication to promote Emerson’s image and
enhance its reputation among key local, regional, national, and international alumni. The Associate Vice
President will report to the Vice President of Institutional Advancement and will manage two direct reports,
a Director of Annual Giving and a Director of Alumni Relations.
Key Responsibilities:
• Develop and execute a comprehensive communications, alumni relations, and events program with
measurable actions and outcomes that lead to stronger alumni ties and support of the long-term
philanthropic goals of Emerson College.
• Identify and prioritize key target audience segments, develop audience insights and strategies, and
create and manage messaging by segment. Develop communications objectives, strategies and
plans, and oversee execution utilizing public relations, direct marketing, social media, interactive
strategies, and other emerging media as required.
• Stay abreast of key trends in fundraising/philanthropy and explore new strategies, as appropriate.
Responsible for results measurement, reporting, and formulating strategies for optimization.
• Demonstrate strategic and operational leadership by providing a strategic vision for the role, the
potential, and the expectations of annual giving in the context of broader institutional advancement
initiatives.
• Collaborate with the AVP for Major Gifts and his team to ensure the strategic cultivation, solicitation,
and stewardship of alumni with significant capacity for giving.
• Assume responsibility for developing and building a student and young alumni giving program that
conveys the importance of and lifelong responsibility for private philanthropy.
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• Provide strategic direction and guidance for the Executive Committee of the Emerson Alumni
Association.
• Design and execute a market research plan to explore and reveal barriers and gateways to greater
giving to Emerson.
Required and Desired Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing or a related field is required; Master’s degree
desired.
• Minimum eight years of experience leading marketing/communications initiatives with metrics-
driven results or similar equivalent experience required; awareness of trends in alumni engagement
and annual giving strategies highly desirable.
• Minimum three years of experience directing professional staff.
• Demonstrated strategic success with new and traditional media, direct marketing, publications and
events to drive measurable results.
• Ability to innovate and perform proactively.
• Ability to handle multiple responsibilities to determine priorities and to track details is essential.
• Outstanding written, oral and interpersonal communication skills.
• Availability to work to the demands of the job, which may exceed an eight-hour day.
• Experience in higher education a plus, but not required.
Development and Alumni Relations Overview
As the College looks to its future, significant additional resources will be needed for scholarships, faculty
support, programmatic support, capital support, and endowment. President Pelton’s ambitious vision calls
for aggressive fundraising targets that are critical for mission success. In each of the last three years, the
Emerson community has set new records for the College in philanthropic support. Fiscal Year 2017 closed on
June 30 at $7.7 million – Emerson’s second-best year ever.
Emerson’s alumni participation rate has ranged from a low of 3% to a high of 7%. With more than 32,000
alumni, the College has far more potential to engage and solicit its most important constituency. While
enormously accomplished and proud, most of Emerson’s alumni have yet to be convinced to make their
alma mater a top philanthropic concern. Creating a strategic plan to strengthen alumni bonds to Emerson
and crafting a compelling case for annual support will be priorities for the new Associate Vice President for
Alumni Engagement with the objective of doubling participation in the annual fund over the next few years.
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Emersonians are concentrated in Massachusetts, New York, and California, and can be found working in
virtually every major media, entertainment, or arts enterprise across the country. They support students
through internships, jobs, mentoring, and professional development. They return to Boston for Alumni
Weekend and their class reunions. They attend
the annual Emerson College Showcase of Film in
Los Angeles and participate in the annual New
York Connection, a networking and site visit
event for students.
Emerson alumni are found among the leaders in
their fields. They include, among others, actors
Norman Lear, Henry Winkler and Denis Leary;
producers Kevin Bright (Friends), Vin Di Bona
(America’s Funniest Home Videos), Max Mutchnik
(Will & Grace); and entertainment executive
Doug Herzog, to name a few. To learn more about notable alumni, please click here.
The Alumni Association actively involves alumni in promoting the reputation and influence of Emerson
College as a leader in communication and the arts. The Association encourages alumni to participate in
planning and guiding the College’s future, and to work to increase the resources available to make
Emerson’s programs a reality. The Office of Alumni Relations supports the Alumni Association and its Board
of Directors in its work. Membership in the Emerson College Alumni Association is open to anyone who has
attended the College.
Parents of Emerson students also become instant members of the College family and frequently become
lifelong friends. Many are actively engaged as volunteers, helping Emerson students and alumni find
internships or positions, serving as mentors and advisors, and promoting the mission of the College. Several
parents currently serve on Emerson’s Board of Trustees and many others, including industry leaders, provide
support for the College.
Overview
Emerson College offers educational programs that prepare undergraduate and graduate men and women to
assume positions of responsibility and leadership in communication and the arts and to pursue scholarship
and work that brings innovation to these disciplines.
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Established in 1880 as a small, regional school of oratory, Emerson has evolved into a diverse, coeducational,
and multifaceted degree-granting institution with a liberal arts, rather than conservatory, orientation. But its
mission and focus remain largely the same as it was in 1880: to explore and push the boundaries of
communication, art, and culture and, thereby, to contribute to the advancement of society. Its curriculum
reflects the emergence of interdisciplinary study
as a mode for teaching and learning, and affirms
new directions for the fields of communication
and the arts. Recently, the College launched a
Comedic Arts major, the first of its kind in the
nation. Other innovative curricular highlights
included the creation of an online creative
writing MFA in popular fiction and the
Boston/Los Angeles low-residency MFA in
writing for film and television.
With its continued work toward becoming the world leader in higher education in communication and the
arts, Emerson College once again has been recognized, rising in the rankings of U.S. News & World Report’s
annual Best Regional Universities in the North. Emerson has climbed to #7 from #8 over last year, and
continued a steady upward trajectory that began six years ago, when the College was ranked #14.
Emerson also has risen to the top of a number of lists, including College Factual’s ranking of the College as
the third-best communications and media studies program in the nation, the fifth-best marketing program,
and, once again, naming Emerson’s journalism program the best in the nation. The Hollywood Reporter’s List
of Top 25 American Film Schools put Emerson’s Visual and Media Arts program at #9, up from its #10 spot
the previous two years. This summer, the Princeton Review cited Emerson as having the #3 Best College
Radio Station and LGBTQ-Friendly Campus. Last year, Emerson ranked seventh on both lists. And the
College debuted at #4 this year on the Best Career Services list and came in at #16 for Best College Theater in
the country.
Demand for an Emerson education continues to grow. For fall 2017, the College received 9,149 applications
and enrolled 881 students. The incoming class is diverse and increasingly international.
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Pioneering Achievements:
Throughout its history, Emerson has shown
the capacity to respond to the changing
educational demands within
communication and the arts. It was the
first college in New England to establish an
educational FM radio station (WERS, 1949).
It was also among the first colleges in the
nation to establish a program in children’s
theater (1919) and one of the first colleges
to offer undergraduate programs in
broadcasting (1937). The College’s other
pioneering achievements include:
• Offered professional-level training in speech pathology and audiology (1935);
• Established a closed-circuit television broadcast facility, WERS-TV (1955);
• Created a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film (1972); and
• In 1980, the College initiated a comprehensive graduate-level program in professional writing and
publishing — the first such program in the nation specifically designed to meet the expressed needs
of the publishing industry.
The College has continued to innovate, adding a Master of Fine Arts in Media Art, a Master of Arts in Health
Communication (in partnership with Tufts University School of Medicine), a Bachelor of Science in Marketing
Communication, and an undergraduate program in Business and Entrepreneurial Studies.
Classified as a comprehensive MAI Institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching,
Emerson today supports 3,783 undergraduate and 641 graduate students from 48 U.S. states and 57
countries. Its community contains 457 full- and part-time faculty.
Campuses
Emerson College’s main campus is located in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, at the gateway of the city’s
Theatre District and in close proximity to cultural centers, media outlets, and public transportation. The
College also has facilities in Los Angeles and The Netherlands.
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Main Campus – Boston:
Emerson’s epicenter is located at the intersections of Boylston
and Tremont streets at the southeast end of Boston Common.
The gold dome of the Massachusetts State House can be seen
from many vantage points on campus and the subway stops at
the front door. Nearly half of the Boston campus’s facilities are
new or renovated since 2002, including new residence halls,
multiple theaters and stages, galleries, production and rehearsal
studios, as well as fitness and athletic venues. LEARN MORE
about the heart of Emerson College.
Los Angeles:
Emerson College LA opened in March 2014 and provides its
students with an unparalleled hands-on experience that only
living in this great city can provide. The opening of a
magnificent building on Sunset Boulevard made a statement
that Emerson is committed to the city of Los Angeles and to
the entertainment and communication industries for the long
term. The work done here solidifies Emerson College’s
reputation as the world’s leading institution of higher learning
in communication and the arts. LEARN MORE about Emerson’s
LA programs.
The Netherlands – Kasteel Well:
A restored 14th-century medieval castle is home to Emerson’s
semester abroad program. Kasteel Well is a national historical
monument that provides living accommodations, classrooms, a
resource center and related facilities. Located in southeastern
Holland near the German border, Kasteel Well is approximately
two hours from Düsseldorf, Amsterdam, and Brussels, and five
hours from Paris, Milan, and Madrid. Using Europe as a platform
to enhance and enrich learning, Kasteel Well is an unrivaled
program for undergraduates. LEARN MORE about this international undergraduate semester aboard
program.
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Special Programs
ArtsEmerson:
ArtsEmerson is Boston’s leading presenter of contemporary world theatre. It is dedicated to engaging all
communities through stories that reveal and deepen our connection to each other. By cultivating diversity in
the art and in the audience, ArtsEmerson ignites public conversation around the most vexing societal
challenges as a catalyst for overcoming them.
ArtsEmerson is the professional presenting and
producing organization of the Office of the Arts
at Emerson College. Founded by Robert J.
Orchard in 2010, ArtsEmerson identified gaps in
the Boston cultural landscape and created an
arts institution intentionally designed to fill
them. By December of 2013, WBUR critic Ed
Siegel cited ArtsEmerson in his annual “Best of”
roundup, noting: “In four short years, [they]
have established ArtsEmerson as one of the
most important cultural institutions in New
England.” In both 2012 and 2015, Boston
Magazine named ArtsEmerson “Best Theatre in
Boston.” In 2015, a new leadership structure was established, with Orchard moving into the role of Creative
Consultant. ArtsEmerson is now led by a triad leadership of equal authority, Co-Artistic Directors David
Dower and P. Carl, and Executive Director David C. Howse. This shared leadership model reflects the
organization’s values — that diverse perspectives are essential to leading a 21st century arts organization.
ProArts Consortium:
Since 1981, Emerson College has been one of the six members of the ProArts Consortium in Boston. The
Consortium includes the Berklee College of Music, the Boston Architectural Center, The Boston
Conservatory, Massachusetts College of Art, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Emerson students
can enroll in courses offered by consortium members and participate in projects, events, lectures,
performances, and exhibit openings at the other colleges subject to the availability of space in classes.
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ProArts Connect is a new, dynamic, online community that serves the Professional Arts Consortium (ProArts)
schools.
The Washington, D.C. Program:
The Washington, D.C. Program offers students of any major the opportunity to spend a fall semester in the
nation’s capital, focusing on the issues, processes, and decisions surrounding government, social advocacy
groups, nonprofit organizations, business, economics and trade firms, law and criminal justice agencies,
environmental organizations, arts and humanities institutions, education, and media and communication
organizations. D.C. holds thousands of opportunities for the creative and ambitious Emerson student.
Qualified juniors and seniors may enroll for one semester of study (fall term only) at Emerson’s Washington,
D.C. Program. Enrollment is limited to 20 students.
Additional International Opportunities:
Emerson College students also participate in a variety of additional international programs. Emerson College
offers an eight-credit summer program with the Academy of Performing Arts for Film and Television (FAMU)
located in Prague. In addition to gaining experience in production, cinematography, scripting, and editing,
students take a class in Czech film history, have an opportunity to attend the Karlovy Vary International Film
Festival and also meet with Czech film professionals. The program is open to juniors and seniors who have a
minimum grade point average of 3.0.
Emerson College also has an exchange program with the Communication University of China (CUC), located
in Beijing. Through student exchanges and specialized programs, students can take courses on the main
campus and participate in special projects. Classes are offered in English, but students are required to take
an introductory course in Mandarin. The China Exchange program is open to sophomores, juniors, and first
semester seniors. While CUC is larger than Emerson College, the overall curricula is parallel to Emerson’s.
In addition to its signature programs in China, Prague and the Netherlands, the College has established
global partnerships in Spain, Colombia, and Mexico as well as a Global Pathways program through which
students can take short-term, faculty led study trips abroad in France, Greece, England, Ireland, and Japan.
Emerson students are also able to take advantage of international programs offered by other colleges and
universities.
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Leadership
Lee Pelton
President
Lee Pelton is the 12th president of Emerson College in Boston. He is a
nationally and internationally known speaker and writer on the value of a
liberal education and the importance of leadership development, civic
engagement, and diversity in higher education. He came to Emerson on July
1, 2011, after serving for 13 years as the president of Willamette University in
Salem, Oregon.
He is a well-respected thought and innovation leader, recognized in Boston Magazine’s May 2017 Power
Issue: The 21 Most Powerful People in Boston Business and in its May 2014 Power Issue: The Power of Ideas:
75 Bold Thinkers Who Are Shaping Our City and the World. Other awards include Boston’s 100 Most
Influential People of Color (Get Konnected!, 2016); the Rosoff Award 20/20 (The Ad Club, April 2016);
the Diversity Leadership Award (The National Diversity Council, October 2015); the Sabra Award (Israeli
Stage, November 2014); Boston 50 on Fire, recognizing 50 leading innovators in Boston (BostInno, November
2014); Speak the Truth Award (Student Immigrant Movement, December 2014); and the Champion of
Freedom Award (Freedom House, March 2012).
Since arriving at Emerson, Pelton has outlined a bold vision for the College as the global hub for arts,
communication, and liberal arts. He has created new incentives and resources for faculty development,
interdisciplinarity, global engagement, and innovation; promoted and renewed the College’s civic leadership
in the City of Boston; and strengthened financial planning and operations.
He has overseen the creation of several new initiatives, including Emerson Launch, a program that provides
opportunities for students to launch new businesses before graduation; the creation of a business of
creative enterprises major; the first-of-its-kind comedic arts major in higher education; the Office of
Research and Creative Scholarship, which has set successive annual records for the number of grants and
grant funds awarded to the College for innovative scholarly pursuits; the Office of Internationalization and
Global Engagement, which supports faculty and research exchanges and strategic partnerships with
universities abroad; HowlRound, an international center of online communication and collaboration tools for
researching processes, opportunities, and best practices for developing new theatrical work; the Elma Lewis
Center for Civic Engagement, Learning, and Research, further establishing the College’s commitment to
neighboring communities and addressing a variety of issues of societal importance; the opening of Emerson
College Los Angeles (2014), an architecturally stunning 107,000-square-foot living-learning facility in the
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heart of Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard, which dramatically advances Emerson’s rapid growth as the
world’s hub for the arts, communication, and liberal arts disciplines in higher education; and an
unprecedented partnership between the College and the world’s leading producer of live
theater, Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), to operate the Emerson Colonial Theatre, while providing
fellowships and internship opportunities for Emerson students, underwriting theater arts programs for local
youth, and supporting Boston’s arts community.
Pelton began his academic career at Harvard University, where he earned a Ph.D. in English literature with an
academic focus on 19th-century British prose and poetry. He taught English and American literature at
Harvard and served as senior tutor at Winthrop House. He later served on the Harvard Board of Overseers
and as a vice-chair of its executive committee. After Harvard, Pelton served as dean of the college at Colgate
University and Dartmouth College.
He has been featured in The New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Presidency Magazine, the Chronicle of
Higher Education, Color Magazine, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, Diversity Journal, and countless
newspapers in America and abroad. He has been a guest on National Public Radio (NPR), as well as on an
NPR Boston affiliate radio station, WBUR, and PBS affiliate television station, WGBH. He has received
honorary degrees from the Urban College of Boston and Tokyo International University.
Over the years, Pelton has been active in several higher education associations and cultural organizations
including the Board of Directors of the American Council on Education (past chair), the National Association
of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the Association of American Colleges & Universities. In
addition to his service as a Harvard overseer, he has served as a member of the Harvard University Graduate
School Alumni Council, the Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility, Harvard Magazine Board of
Incorporators, and several Harvard Visiting Committees.
He also serves on the Board of Trustees at WGBH and the Board of Directors for the Boston Chamber of
Commerce; Museum of African American History (Boston); Boston Arts Academy (chair); the Association of
Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts; the Boston Municipal Research Bureau; and Facing
History and Ourselves; and the Barr Foundation, one of the nation’s leading philanthropic organizations.
Ron Korvas
Vice President for Institutional Advancement
On June 1, 2016, Dr. Ronald Korvas assumed his role as Emerson’s Vice
President for Institutional Advancement. In this role, Korvas leads a team that
is engaged in all aspects of fundraising, including major gifts, planned giving,
corporate and foundation giving, parent leadership giving, annual giving,
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stewardship, development communications, and events. In addition, he oversees alumni relations.
Korvas brings to Emerson more than three decades of experience in higher education advancement,
including orchestrating the largest fundraising effort in Willamette University’s history, raising $131 million:
the most money raised by a private university or college in the Pacific Northwest at that time.
Prior to joining Emerson, Korvas served as the Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Rollins
College in Winter Park, Florida, a position he held for five years. Over his tenure at Rollins, he helped plan,
organize, and launch The Campaign for Rollins, a $150 million fundraising effort for scholarships, academic
excellence, student success and co-curricular activities, facilities, and annual giving. Thanks to the best
practices, leadership, and vision that Korvas brought to the College, Rollins won the 2015 Council for the
Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Fundraising Award. Rollins also received CASE’s Overall
Performance Award based on three years of fundraising data.
Previously, Korvas was Vice President for University Advancement at Minnesota State University-Mankato
from 1994 to 2000, and, before then, was Vice President of the Washington State University Foundation,
where he helped plan and implement a $250 million campaign.
Korvas holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from University of Missouri-Kansas City; an M.Ed. in
Guidance and Counseling and a B.S. in Human Relations from the University of Toledo. He also attended the
Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University.
Location
Boston, MA:
Emerson College is in the one of the oldest, most
picturesque cities in the U.S. – and one of its best college
towns. Small in scale yet large in scope, the city is an
internationally renowned center of excellence in higher
education, healthcare, and technological innovation that
attracts a diverse mix of students and professionals from
around the world.
Emerson’s epicenter is located at the intersections of
Boylston and Tremont streets at the southeast end of
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Boston Common. The gold dome of the Massachusetts State House can be seen from many vantage points
on campus and the subway stops at its front door (Boylston Station on the Green Line).
Background Checks:
Prior to submitting your resume for this position, please read it over for accuracy. LLLS does verify academic
credentials for its candidates, and our clients frequently conduct background checks prior to finalizing an
offer.
To learn more, call
Zena Lum, Search Director at
617-262-1102, extension 214
or send nominations or cover letter and resume to
zlum@LLLSearches.com.
All inquiries will be held in confidence.
Setting the Standard in Development Search
420 Boylston Street, Suite 604, Boston, MA 02116
617.262.1102
www.LLLSearches.com
Ron KorvasVice President of
Institutional Advancement
Director of Advancement Services
AVP of Major GiftsAssociate Vice President for Alumni Engagement
Director of Alumni Relations
Director of Annual Giving
EMERSON COLLEGE, ADVANCEMENT OFFICE Prepared by: LOIS L. LINDAUER SEARCHES | November 8, 2017
Associate Director
2 Assistant Directors
Associate Director
2 Annual Giving/Fund Officers
Administrative Assistant
Director of Donor Relations
AVP of Communications
AVP of Marketing