No other American university has moved in the last decade as Rensselaer has moved. U.S. News & World Report ranks Rensselaer 42nd among the top national research and graduate universities; in the top 20 universities for undergraduate engineering; and number eight for its graduate programs in media and the arts. Among the 500 faculty members in Troy and Hartford, New York are a Nobel Laureate, winners of National Science Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellowships, the Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Fellowship, and members of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering. The Institute’s innovations in undergraduate programs have made it the only school in the country to have earned three of the nation’s most prestigious awards in education: the Pew Award for the Renewal of Undergraduate Education, the Boeing Outstanding Education Award, and the Theodore Hesburgh Award for Faculty Development. The Middle State’s Commission on Higher Education evaluation team, chaired by Dr. Jared L. Cohon, president of Carnegie Mellon University, visited the Troy and Hartford campuses in April 2006. The evaluation team has found that Rensselaer meets or exceeds all 14 standards outlined in the Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education, the Commission’s standard of excellence guidelines. In its final report, Middle States says The Rensselaer Plan has brought about change “at a speed and scale perhaps without precedent in American higher education.” The Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D., became the 18th President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on July 1, 1999. Dr. Jackson is a theoretical physicist and has created the Rensselaer Plan—the Institute’s new strategic plan—which now serves as the driving force to achieve new prominence for the Institute in the 21st century.

In September 2004, the Institute publicly launched Renaissance at Rensselaer: The Campaign for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute supports the overarching goal of the Rensselaer Plan, the Institute’s blueprint for transformation: to achieve greater prominence in the 21st century as a top tier, world-class technological research university with global reach and global impact. The initial goal was to raise $1 billion by the end of 2008; in September of 2005, the goal was increased to $1.4 billion to be secured by June 30, 2009. To date, more than $1.31 billion has been raised in gifts and support from individuals, corporations, and foundations.

To achieve this goal, the campaign supports groundbreaking interdisciplinary programs that have at their core the technologies driving innovations in the 21st century: biotechnology, nanotechnology, information technology, and experimental media.

• Create and implement a comprehensive institutional advancement program that promotes a significantly elevated quality and scale of life-long relationships so as to move alumni and other individuals, as well as corporations, foundations, and other organizations, to extraordinary levels of support for Rensselaer’s strategic goals and priorities.

• Manage the fundraising initiatives of the university, including leadership and major giving, annual giving, and corporate and foundation relations programs.

• Define, develop, and provide leadership for fundraising campaigns and initiatives as established by the President and the Board of Trustees.

• Develop, for the President’s approval, an integrated and prioritized set of fundraising goals and initiatives. Maintain and communicate approved priorities to all involved in fundraising.

• Approve cultivation and solicitation activities across the Institute within approved priorities and in accordance with Institute prospect and proposal clearance policies approved by the President.

• Establish and maintain a system of coordination among the various fundraising efforts throughout the university to prevent duplication of solicitations and ensure stewardship of successful fundraising efforts.

• Manage a portfolio of high-level individual prospects.

• Oversee an international advancement program to build alumni and organizational engagement and fundraising on a global scale.

• Oversee the alumni relations initiatives of the university, including oversight of the Rensselaer Alumni Association and its chapters.

• Oversee an integrated program of communications (speeches, publications, Web sites, etc.); interactive services; stewardship activities; cultivation and recognition events; and related activities intended to motivate advancement constituents to ever higher levels of advocacy for, engagement with, and investment in Rensselaer.

• Provide a state-of-the-art platform of prospect, donor, and advancement research, business intelligence, and information systems to support advancement activities. Record gift commitments and transactions; receipt and acknowledge gifts; and report on gifts and gift commitments.

• Work closely with the Vice President for Strategic Communications and External Relations, who provides the overall institutional message platform, and who serves as the key enabler of Institute Advancement’s communications programs with individual and organizational prospects, partners, and donors.

• Assure that Rensselaer priorities, fundraising priorities and initiatives, and advancement plans, goals, progress, challenges, and achievements are communicated within Institute Advancement and to Institute leadership, campus partners, and volunteer groups.

• Represent the Division of Institute Advancement at alumni and regional events, and to volunteer groups such as the Rensselaer Alumni Association, Key Executives, and Annual Fund leadership groups.

• Serve as staff liaison for institutional advancement to the Board of Trustees and to the Advancement Committee of the Board of Trustees.

• Serve as the institutional advancement liaison to community, business, and social leaders. Serve as a Rensselaer representative at professional/civic functions, and on committees or boards as required.

• Identify legal requirements and government reporting regulations affecting Institute Advancement. Ensure that the organization is in compliance with applicable state, local and federal requirements.

• Develop, for the President’s approval and implement a comprehensive suite of policies to guide fundraising, gift acceptance and processing practices, stewardship of prospect and donor information, and other advancement activities.

• Participate as an active member of the President’s Cabinet to establish the vision and goals for Rensselaer, and effectively communicate and organize to achieve those outcomes. Assume responsibilities as delegated by the President.

• Assume responsibility for the development and presentation of a performance plan and a performance based budget that realistically reflects the priorities and needs of the Division; insure fiscal responsibility for decisions regarding expenditures in the Division. Develop and implement expenditure tracking and controls; prepare quarterly performance and budget reports; and initiate appropriate cost containment measures as necessary.

• Baccalaureate degree.

• Comprehensive knowledge in fundraising with experience in areas including direct solicitation, annual giving, major and/or planned gifts, and/or capital campaigns commonly acquired in ten plus years of progressively more responsible positions.

• Requires strong leadership skills and ability to communicate and interact with diverse groups of customers.

• Requires expert financial acumen.

• Requires effective customer service and organizational skills.

• Requires ability to effectively present information to internal and external groups and audiences.

• Advanced academic degree with academic emphasis in business administration, communications, marketing or a related field.