Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with the Advanced Studies in Culture Foundation in the search for a Chief Development Officer.
Reporting to the Director and Senior Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, the Chief Development Officer will expand the base of support for the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture in tandem with the expansion of the Institute's national influence. The Chief Development Officer will possess an entrepreneurial vision and significant principal and major gift experience, as well as a passion for relationship building and prospect development. The Chief Development will serve as a collaborative fundraising thought partner with the senior leadership team of the Foundation and Institute, including the Executive Director and Director, to successfully design and execute a fundraising plan that supports the Institute's vision and mission. The Chief Development Officer will join and help lead a small, high performing team prepared to work and grow with the Foundation and find joy in their work, while setting an example of collegiality, hospitality, and institutional effectiveness in the midst of a world class university. The Advanced Studies in Culture Foundation is in Charlottesville, Virginia at Watson Manner near the historic central grounds of the University of Virginia. The Chief Development Officer is expected to spend at least one week each month at the ASCF offices, as well as travel and work on nights and weekends as needed.
The Advanced Studies in Culture Foundation (ASCF) was established in 1995 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to support the work of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. For nearly thirty years, ASCF and its individual and institutional partners and supporters have enabled the Institute to explore contemporary cultural change and its individual and social consequences and have maintained the physical, financial, and human resources necessary to continue this work.
Through the Institute, Foundation resources fund basic and applied research to educate the public and key societal leadership groups about the nature and challenges of late-modern society; to conduct inquiry into humane and democratic responses to these challenges; to train early career scholars; and to provide intellectual leadership in service to the common good. The Institute is part of the University of Virginia, which has consistently ranked as one of the nation's premier public universities. Not only is the Institute's vision unique, but its character is as well. For one, while the work may have social and political implications, its first task cannot be position taking in the ever-changing, ever-pressing contest for political power. Rather, the first task of the Institute is to see as clearly and as dispassionately as possible. In this regard, the Institute both affirms the goal of objective inquiry and rejects the politicizing of scholarship. Yet in refusing to politicize its work, the Institute also does not keep it within the walls of higher education. Indeed, it believes that because knowledge exists for the common good, it is imperative that the work is accessible and available for individuals and institutions for whom the work would have significant impact. The Institute is also distinct for its embodiment as an intellectual community, rather than, as in a typical research university, a random aggregate of individual efforts.
The Institute stands at a key and promising inflection point in its 28-year history. Founder and LaBrosse-Levinson Distinguished Professor of Religion, Culture, and Social Theory James Davison Hunter published in April of this year,Democracy and Solidarity: On the Cultural Roots of America's Political Crisis(Yale UP) to glowing reviews (David Brooks inThe New York Timesproclaimed Hunter "the nation's leading cultural historian") and significant donor interest (the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation awarded the Institute in May of this year a $1 million grant to support new work in democracy and culture). Hunter's scholarship joins the work of more than 70 active fellows, at the University of Virginia and universities around the world, advancing the Institute's mission at its Charlottesville home in historic Watson Manor blocks from the Rotunda, through the Institute's award-winning journalThe Hedgehog Reviewreaching more than 25,000 print and digital subscribers, and with virtual programming throughout the academic year to audiences of scholars and leaders across the nation.
A bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience and at least eight years of professional experience, including at least five years of successful fundraising experience, is preferred for this role as is experience in an academic or institute setting. The Advanced Studies in Culture Foundation will consider candidates with a broad range of backgrounds. If you are excited about this role and feel that you can contribute to ASCF, but your experience does not exactly align with every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply. All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter and rsum. Cover letters should be responsive to the missions of the Advanced Studies in Culture Foundation and the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture as well as the responsibilities and qualifications stated in the prospectus.
The salary range for this position is $170,000 to $190,000 annually.
The Advanced Studies in Culture Foundation is committed to the inclusion of all qualified candidates. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or participating in the selection process, please contact Jeanette Rivera-Watts atjeanetterw@aspenleadershipgroup.com.
To apply for this position, visit:https://opportunities.aspenleadershipgroup.com/opportunities/2732.