Ithaca College

I'd like to welcome three new staff members to the Division of Institutional Advancement: Rob de la Fuente, Craig Evans '84, and Greg Kimbell. Each of them fill important roles that will be crucial as we head into a campaign supporting the college's IC 20/20 strategic plan.

Rob de la Fuente joined the Division of Institutional Advancement (IA) on July 30 as the director of the newly renamed Ithaca College Annual Fund. Rob had worked at Cornell University since 2005 in the Division of Alumni Affairs and Development. Rob was a reunion (fund-raising) campaign officer and most recently director in the Office of Volunteer Programs.

Rob brings a wonderful blend of annual giving, development, and volunteer management experience with him. Prior to his time at Cornell, Rob worked in development at Binghamton University, his alma mater. Rob also worked in several capacities at the Cider Mill Playhouse in Endicott, New York.

Craig Evans '84 returned to his alma mater on September 4 as director of gift planning. Most recently he was senior director of development in the Office of Gift Planning at Syracuse University. In this capacity Craig was responsible for cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of planned gifts to the university, and was also involved in complex planned gift negotiations and vehicles.

During his career in development Craig has also worked with the Foundation for Orange County Public Schools, Inc., in Orlando, Florida, serving as executive director responsible for overseeing all fund-raising, programs, operations, marketing, and board relations.

Craig is a dedicated alumnus and passionate about philanthropy and gift planning. He previously worked for Ithaca College as director of individual giving and then as associate vice president for institutional advancement, serving as one of the senior managers for the capital campaign. He has also been an active volunteer for the college, serving on the alumni association board of directors and the Friends of Ithaca College's advisory council. I am delighted that Craig is returning to Ithaca College, and I know many of you will enjoy working with him again.

And on July 2, Greg Kimbell brought 18 years of experience in advancement to the role of director of advancement services in IA. From 1990 through 2008 Greg held a series of progressively responsible positions in the Division of Alumni Affairs and Development at Cornell University. After being the director of stewardship for several years he served as functional lead on a project to implement an advancement system and a suite of business intelligence tools. In his last position at Cornell he led a services team that provided 400 end-users with the tools, information, and training they needed to manage a $4 billion capital campaign.

During his time at Cornell Greg also chaired a product advisory group for two terms, and co-created an annual, invitational conference of leaders in advancement services, product development, and consulting.

For the past three years Greg had been consulting at Cornell as a business analyst on the Kuali Financial System implementation, where his focus was on budget construction, labor distribution, interfaces, and business intelligence.

Again, please join me in welcoming Rob, Craig, and Greg to campus.