January 28 – 30 Forum:
Featured Speakers
Moderators and Panelists:
A. Marshall Acuff, Jr.
President of AMA Investment Counsel, LLC, Senior Advisor to The London Company, and the chairman of the investment committee of Cary Street Partners. Prior to starting AMA Investment Counsel, LLC, in 2001, Mr. Acuff was senior vice president and managing director at Salomon Smith Barney. He is the past chair of the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities (AGB), past rector of the College of William and Mary board of visitors and chair of the college’s financial affairs committee. He is a past member of the board of directors and chair of the finance committee of Sweet Briar College, and is a past member of the board and treasurer of the Episcopal Church Foundation. He is currently vice chair and chair of the investments committee of the William and Mary Foundation and the chair of the investments committee at the Virginia Theological Seminary. He holds a bachelor’s from the College of William and Mary and a M.B.A. from the University of Michigan Graduate School of Business Administration.
Leonard G. Armstrong, C.I.M.A
First vice president , Merrill Lynch Private Banking and Investment Group, private wealth advisor, designated institutional consultant, and partner, The Armstrong Group. He is one of a select group of designated consultants in Merrill Lynch nationwide who access specialized institutional consulting services not available to ML Financial Consultants in general. Leonard has served as the president of the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA), served as a director of IMCA and currently serves as Director Emeritus. He is also one of a group of Consultants nationwide listed in the Who’s Who of Consultants as selected by Senior Consultant Magazine. The Russian Federal Securities Commission, on behalf of the Russian Government, invited Leonard to conduct educational sessions in Moscow on investment consulting. Special areas of technical expertise lie in Investment Policy Statements, their construction and implementation, and evaluation of investment manager performance. Leonard teaches at the Wharton School of Business certification program regarding investment policy, design construction and implementation, and has articles featured in national publications. He is a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) and has been with Merrill Lynch since 1970.
Katéy Assem
Vice chancellor for institutional advancement at North Carolina Central University and executive director of the North Carolina Central University Foundation since 2006. Prior to that he served as vice president for advancement and chief executive officer of the Fort Valley State University Foundation, chief development officer and executive director of the Chicago State University Foundation, and associate vice president for development and campaign director at Hampton University. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics from the University of Ghana, Legon, and Masters of Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He holds a certificate in Fundraising Management from the Indiana University-Purdue University Fundraising School. He has held several positions of responsibility in the corporate, government, education and human services sectors.
Robert Bovinette
Retired from Commonfund as its president and chief executive officer in 2003. He is also a former chairman of Commonfund. He joined Commonfund in 1996 and had been involved in endowment and financial management for the previous two decades as the president and chief executive officer of Albuquerque Academy and executive vice president and treasurer at Occidental College. He currently serves as chair of the University of New Mexico Foundation and chair of the Northern Illinois University Foundation. Bob received his A.B. from MacMurray College and his M.S. degree from Northern Illinois University.
Tad Brown
President and trustee of the Watson-Brown Foundation, and investment committee chair of the Georgia College & State University Foundation. The Watson-Brown Foundation awards more than $1 million in merit and need-based college scholarships to students from the Central Savannah River Area of Georgia and South Carolina, and grants in support of southern colleges and universities. Mr. Brown currently serves as director of the Mercer University Press and serves on the president’s advisory board at Wofford College.
Olga Calvet
Vice president and chief financial officer of Palmas, Inc., charter member of the University of Central Florida board of trustees, and chair of the University of Central Florida Foundation. Born in Havana, Cuba, she has been a resident of Orlando since 1962. She received her B.S.B.A. degree in accounting from the University of Central Florida in 1971. She is a member of both the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Her community service is extensive and includes serving as the international director and the first female governor of the Florida District for Civitan International, as well as president of the Frontier Civitan Club and senior club sponsor for the Bishop Moore High School Junior Civitan Club. She has been a board member of the St. James Cathedral School, Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority (LYNX), City of Orlando Municipal Planning Board, and the Community Foundation of Central Florida, Inc. She is currently a Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commissioner.
Janne Gallagher
Vice president and general counsel of the Council on Foundations since 2003. Before becoming vice president and general counsel, she was deputy general counsel for four years. Ms. Gallagher previously spent 17 years in private practice specializing in the representation of tax-exempt organizations. She is a member of the Exempt Organization Committee of the American Bar Association's Tax Section, for which she co-chairs the Community Foundations Subcommittee. Her recent publications include, "Been Down So Long It Looks Like UMIFA to Me," in the March 2003 issue of Foundation News and Commentary. A graduate of Trinity College in Washington, D.C., and Boston College Law School, Ms. Gallagher also holds a Master of Law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.
Richard M. Grzymajlo
Managing principal at Fund Evaluation Group, LLC (FEG) and has been a team member since 1998. He is responsible for consulting projects and the Compliance & Risk Assessment Committee. He has presented at numerous meetings, including the National Business Officers Association, the Council on Foundations, the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants. Grzymajlo has been an investment and finance professional since 1994. Prior to joining Fund Evaluation Group, he was a stock transfer manager at Fifth Third Bank, where his responsibilities included IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, and capital market reorganizations. Grzymajlo serves as a member of the investment committee of the Chaminade-Julienne Catholic High School and has served on committees for the Council on Foundations, the Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Council, the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, and the Advisory Board for Investment Management Institute. Grzymajlo received his B.S. degree in Marketing from Miami University and has pursued executive education from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Business. He is Series 66 licensed.
Jim Lanier
Senior fellow for board services for the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB), and former president of the East Carolina University Foundation, Inc. and the ECU Real Estate Foundation. For over 20 years he served as vice chancellor for institutional advancement and chief executive officer of the foundations. In 2004, he chaired a joint taskforce for AGB and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) to develop a national illustrative model memorandum of understanding between universities and foundations. Jim has a number of publications including “The Committee on Directors” co-authored with E.B. Wilson. He received his A.A. from Louisburg College; his B.S. and M.S. from East Carolina University. He has been honored with Louisburg College’s two highest awards, the distinguished alumnus and president’s medallion.
Mary Jo Waits
Center director of the Pew Center on the States, a division of the Pew Charitable Foundation since June 2006. Prior to that she served as a senior fellow with the Center for the Future of Arizona. In July 2004, she founded a new public policy consulting firm, Mary Jo Waits and Associates LLC, which has assisted the City of Phoenix, the Arizona Board of Regents and key business leaders with a variety of economic development projects including a redesign of Arizona's public university system and a downtown strategy for Phoenix that integrates a new Arizona State University campus and biomedical complex. Prior to founding her consulting firm, Ms. Waits was the associate director of the Morrison Institute for Public Policy affiliated with Arizona State University. She has written extensively on her areas of special expertise, economic development, urban growth, and environment. Ms. Waits holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.
Facilitators:
G. Koryoe Anim-Wright
Vice president for institutional advancement at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, CT. She also serves as secretary/treasurer to the Western Connecticut State University Foundation, Inc. board of directors. She has more than 14 years combined experience in the areas of development, marketing and public relations. From 2003 to 2005, she served as director of university relations where she advised senior management on formulating appropriate goals and policies on communications, media relations, marketing and promotional activities, as well as university branding. She also served as the university’s spokesperson. Prior to this position, she served as director of public relations. She received her bachelor’s from Central State University, and her doctorate from Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio.
David W. Bahlmann
President and chief executive officer of the Ball State University Foundation since 1990. He is responsible for supervising all programs and activities of the foundation and for the management, investment and administration of all private gifts received by the foundation for the benefit of Ball State University. Mr. Bahlmann has served as the national chief executive officer of both Camp Fire Boys and Girls and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America. He possesses a broad range of professional experience, including 15 years in law (having served as a prosecuting attorney, legal advisor to the speaker for the Indiana House of Representatives, and a practicing attorney) and 30 years in agency administration. Mr. Bahlmann is a graduate of Hillsdale College (A.B. Economics) and the Valparaiso University School of Law (J.D.).
Michael A. Beatty
President and investment counsel of Prescott Investor Services, Inc., and investment committee co-chair, Northern Arizona University Foundation. Mr. Beatty co-founded Prescott Investor Services, a registered investment advisory firm, in 1989. Prior to this he served as vice president of a regional investment banking firm, and held various management positions in the hotel and restaurant industry. Since 1991, he has served as a consultant to government and business officials in the Czech Republic in matters concerning business privatization and investment. Mr. Beatty currently serves as an advisor to the Lion's Foundation of Arizona, and a member of the Prescott Estate Planning Council. He has previously served as a member of the Geneva Securities President's Council and as a director of the Golden Scale Council of Putnam Investments. Mr. Beatty received a Bachelor of Science Degree (Cum Laude) from Northern Arizona University.
Gordon Binek
Vice president for college advancement at Bismarck State College. He has been in that position since 1999, serving for 3 years prior as Bismarck State College’s director of college advancement. Mr. Binek has been directly involved in fund raising professionally for 20 years. He started a development program/foundation for a rural hospital and has worked in higher education for the last 15 years. Mr. Binek has been active in the North Dakota Chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives for 19 years and has his national certification as a Certified Fund Raising Executive. He has served on the North Dakota Chapter board of directors and as president. In 1994 he was honored as the outstanding fund raising executive in North Dakota.
Kathryn Holten
Vice president for university advancement and executive director, Winthrop University Foundation. Full bio forthcoming.
Kevin Hoolehan
Vice President, Finance and Controls at the Indiana State University Foundation. He is active on the Indiana State University Foundation and the Indiana State University Alumni Association. He is professionally affiliated with the Association of Fundraising Professionals and serves on the board of the Gibault School, a home and school for troubled and delinquent youth. He served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1969– 1972 and is a farmer, owning a vineyard in Indiana.
John F. Marcy
Vice president of development and alumni affairs for The College of New Jersey, and secretary of The College of New Jersey Foundation. Mr. Marcy has over 30 years of successful development, marketing, and managing experience at the college and university, private school, hospital and hospital system levels. Previously, he served as vice president for development and chief executive officer of the University of Maryland Medical System Foundation. During his tenure there he directed the completion of a major capital campaign for the University Medical Center, and reconstituted the foundation board. From 1994-2002, Mr. Marcy was the senior vice president for development for the southern hospitals of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System in New Jersey. Prior to that he was vice president for development and communications for Lankenau Hospital in Philadelphia, and spent the first twelve years of his career at Dickinson College, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Chestnut Hill Academy. He holds an MBA in marketing from Temple University in Philadelphia and a B.A. in political science from Dickinson College in central Pennsylvania. In addition to his experience in fundraising, Mr. Marcy has a solid track record in board transition, board orientation, strategic planning, and communications.
John Martin
President of the University of Connecticut Foundation since 2003 and is a 35-year veteran of higher education management. In his first year at Connecticut, gifts increased by 20 percent to an all-time high of $75 million, and a $300 million campaign closed at $471 million. John previously was vice chancellor for advancement for the University System of Maryland and president of the University of Maryland Foundation, overseeing more than $500 million in assets. As vice chancellor, he was responsible for system public relations, economic development, and fund-raising activities. He oversaw a $700 million fund-raising campaign that was concluded at $906 million. He coauthored the chapter, "Active Fund-Raising for Active Foundations," for AGB’s foundation handbook. He holds two degrees from the University of Bridgeport.
Harry E. Merriken
Senior vice president and principal at Gateway Investment Advisors, L.P. His major responsibilities include strategic marketing and product development. Prior to joining Gateway, he was a Principal at Alex. Brown, working in Private Client Investment Services. He directed the effort within Private Client Services responsible for the design and implementation of investment, hedging, and diversification strategies geared for high net worth clients and institutional clients. Prior to Alex. Brown, Dr. Merriken was the Dean of Graduate Business Education at Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland, and lead professor in the areas of Capital Markets and Financial Institutions. His academic instruction areas also included investments and corporate finance. Dr. Merriken also managed a consulting firm providing financial and management consulting services to small- and mid-market companies as well as Fortune 100 firms. Dr. Merriken holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Maryland, where he studied the fields of finance, econometrics, and statistics. He received his M.B.A. in Finance and B.A. in English Literature from Loyola College in Maryland.
Amy Nitsche
Vice president for advancement at Georgia College & State University and executive secretary of the Georgia College & State University Foundation board of trustees. Previously, Ms. Nitsche was a fund-raising consultant in Scottsdale, Arizona. She has 24 years of fund-raising experience, including 10 years at Arizona State University as senior college development officer and vice president of the Arizona State University Foundation. She also spent two years as executive director of alumni affairs at Washburn University. Ms. Nitsche is a member of the Association of Fund Raising Professionals and has received a Grand Award for Excellence in Programs by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Ms. Nitsche has earned a bachelor of business administration degree from Washburn University and a master of education degree from Northern Arizona University.
Richard Novak
Vice president of public sector programs, with primary responsibility to direct the Ingram Center for Public Trusteeship and Governance, at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. Through the course of his work, he has assisted state agencies and legislatures, conducted national and invitational seminars, and participated in the AGB’s efforts to serve member boards, trustees, and chief executives with an understanding of the major issues related to lay governance of public colleges and universities. Prior to joining AGB Mr. Novak served as Director of the Center for State Higher Education Policy and Finance at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, monitoring political and public policy issues in the 50 states. While serving on AASCU’s governmental relations staff Mr. Novak was the primary contact with the U.S. Department of Treasury and Congress on federal tax matters affecting state colleges and universities. He also worked with Congressional committees and staff on federal budget, appropriations, and education legislation. Mr. Novak was the lead author of a 1998 AGB report, Bridging the Gap Between State Government and Public Higher Education. He contributed a chapter on the objectives and consequences of systems redesign in Restructuring Higher Education: What Works and What Doesn’t in Reorganizing Governing Systems (Jossey-Bass, 1997). Mr. Novak earned a baccalaureate degree in Liberal Arts and a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration/College Student Personnel at Michigan State University.
Sandra Ogren
Vice president for university advancement at California Polytechnic State University since 2004. Prior to her appointment to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Ms. Ogren held the position of vice president for university relations at the University of Minnesota for six years. From 1991-1998 she was a member of the Minnesota Supreme Court, the state’s high court, and for two years previously she was a member of the Minnesota Court of Appeals. In addition, she has held a variety of other public sector jobs including commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, chair of the Metropolitan Council, twice commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and director of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 5 Enforcement Division. She has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Ms. Ogren is an honors graduate of Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, and the University of Minnesota Law School. She has also studied management and public policy at Duke and Harvard Universities and is the recipient of several honorary degrees.
Megan A. Rock
Vice president for institutional advancement at Southern Connecticut State University, and the executive director of the Southern Connecticut State University Foundation. She is responsible for directing the university’s fundraising, public affairs and promotional programs, as well as overseeing the university’s alumni relations activities. In her role with the Southern Connecticut State University Foundation, she is responsible for overseeing all activities including the management of the university’s endowment and other assets. She previously served as the associate vice president for development at Towson University and as the executive director for the Towson University Foundation. Currently, she serves as a board member for New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Inc., and the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce.
Walter G. Sall
Chairman and founder of Gateway Investment Advisers, L.P. of Cincinnati, Ohio. As of September 30, 2006 Gateway managed approximately $6.7 billion in its publicly traded mutual funds and a variety of private accounts. Mr. Sall helped found Gateway Investment Advisers in 1977 and developed what is generally recognized as the pre-eminent equity hedging program in the US capital markets. Prior to founding Gateway, he served as a senior investment officer with the Irving Trust Company in New York City. Mr. Sall also serves as chairman and trustee of The Gateway Trust. He is a graduate of Syracuse University and holds an M.B.A. degree from the Wharton Graduate Division, University of Pennsylvania.
Isaac Sanders
Vice president for advancement and executive director of the ESU Foundation at East Stroudsburg University. Sanders has been Vice President for Enrollment Management & Student Services at Tuskegee University (Alabama). He has also been Executive Assistant to the President at Alabama State University and Vice President and Chief Development Officer at Stillman College (Alabama). Over the span of his 25 years in higher education and non-profit management, he has held positions in national organizations, including: Vice President, The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, Princeton, New Jersey; and Vice President for Resource Development, The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME), New York City. In 1990, he was awarded the prestigious Kellogg Fellowship by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Sanders earned the B.S. degree in Education at Tuskegee University, his M.S. degree in Rural Sociology & Economics from Cornell University, and his Ph.D. from Kansas State University in Higher Education Administration and Business Management. Since that time he has done post-graduate work at Columbia University, School of Business.
Paul Shelton
Vice president of university advancement and executive director of the NSU Foundation, Inc. position at Norfolk State University since 1999. Previously he served as Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Municipal and Health Services at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina. He has worked in higher education administration for thirty-eight years holding appointments at institutions including Utica College, Chicago State University, Harriman College, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Florida A&M University, Monmouth University and Clemson. In these roles he has provided leadership in the administration of budgets and grants, community relations, governmental affairs, student services, alumni affairs and fund-raising. In 1998, Mr. Shelton was elected to the Pickens County (South Carolina) Council and became the first African-American to hold that office. He holds a BA in Secondary Art Education from The Hiram Scott College, an MS ED in Higher Education Administration from Syracuse University and has pursued doctoral studies at Northern Illinois University and Clemson University in Educational Leadership and Administration. Mr. Shelton has also earned the Certificate in Fund Raising Management (CFRM) from Indiana University’s Fund Raising School.
Sue Sommer-Kresse, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Executive Business Director, College of Charleston Foundation. Other positions she has held at the College of Charleston include Vice President for Enrollment Management. In addition, she was an Associate Professor of Education, Dean of Graduate School and Dean of Continuing Education and Professional and Community Service. Prior to coming to the College of Charleston in 1980, she worked for the University of Wisconsin and the University of Minnesota. She was the 1994 recipient of the Martha Kime Piper Award for outstanding leadership in higher education presented by the South Carolina Women in Higher Education Administration. She serves as a consultant for the American Council on Education to evaluate educational programs on military bases. Dr. Sommer-Kresse served on the Advisory Committee for Harvard’s Institute for the Management of Lifelong Learning. She served as President of the South Carolina Association for Continuing Higher Education and has been a member of the Governor’s Committee on Excellence in Education. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Wachovia Bank and Roper Hospital. The first woman member in the Rotary Club of Charleston, she served as president and as the District Chair of the Ambassadorial Scholars Committee. She founded the Charleston Women’s Network and has served on the Charleston Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
Bill Spiker
Executive director of the Cleveland State University Foundation and vice president of university advancement in charge of alumni affairs, development, advancement services and marketing and public affairs. Prior to his current position, he was associate vice president, university relations and development at Kent State University for 5 years and director of development and campaign director at Mount Union College for 8 years. He has also served as a development officer at The Ohio State University's College of Engineering and director of law admissions at Ohio Northern University. Bill is a graduate of Mount Union College and Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law.
Diane F. Viacava
Vice president / senior credit officer in Moody's Higher Education/Other Not-for-Profits ratings team. Since 2001 she has served as primary analyst for a broad variety of institutions, including public and private colleges and universities, hospitals, independent K-12 schools, and other not-for-profit institutions throughout the country. Diane also was responsible for rating not-for-profit hospitals. She has authored key Moody’s publications, including annual medians and special comments on governance and swaps. She joined Moody's in 1991 as a senior analyst in the Financial Institutions group, specializing in the life insurance industry. Diane also managed a group in Moody's Structured Finance ratings group, as well as managing a number of non-ratings areas. Diane joined the Public Finance Group in June 2001. Diane has served as co-chair of a task force of the National Federation of Municipal Analysts examining the issue of disclosure of interest rate swaps within the municipal market by participants in the municipal market. Prior to joining Moody's, Diane worked as a health care credit analyst at Mellon Bank, N.A. and as Vice President / Credit Officer at Bankers Trust Company, specializing in insurance. Diane holds a M.B.A from the University of Pittsburgh; her undergraduate degree is in Accounting from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.
Molly Williams
President, Northern Arizona University Foundation and vice president for university advancement for Northern Arizona University since 2003. Williams has more than 23 years of successful experience in the fund-raising and advancement field. She serves as associate vice president for institutional advancement and campaign director at the University of Wyoming. There she oversaw development operations including major, planned, corporate, foundation, constituent and annual giving, prospect research, information services and a $125 million comprehensive campaign. Prior to that she was director of membership and development at the Denver Botanic Gardens, and director of major gifts at the Colorado School of Mines Foundation, Inc. Molly earned her master’s degree in Counseling and Student Personnel Administration at the State University of New York, Albany. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the SUNY College at Cortland.