New assistant vice president named
Joyce Albrecht is Utah State University’s new associate vice president of University Advancement.
The department of University Advancement is responsible for raising private support for USU. It works in conjunction with President Kermit L. Hall, as well as the deans, by contacting USU alumni through letters and phone calls and encouraging them to donate money to the university.
Randy Talbot, vice president of University Advancement, said Albrecht was a good fit for this position because she knows USU.
“When you look to hire somebody, you want somebody that has experience,” he said. “Her experience at Utah State will carry over and will be of a great benefit to her work in the development offices and with the deans, but in particular with the donor base.”
Albrecht has spent her entire career working in higher education and has been at USU for about four years. Prior to her new position, she managed the advancement services – more of the business-end of things, such as receiving and acknowledging gifts and keeping information current. She said she understands the university’s priorities and, as Talbot mentioned, has a good knowledge of the donor base among other things.
“Joyce understands the whole fundraising process, from the annual fund to the processing of records and getting good information and receiving gifts, all the way to going out and calling on prospects and generating major gifts,” Talbot said. “To have a knowledge of that really gives you a chance to do something.”
Albrecht said one reason she is excited is because the school needs to increase private philanthrophy.
” There isn’t any way we can achieve success if we don’t have more private funding,” Albrecht said. “I’m excited to work with the deans and the college development directors. We have a very talented group of deans that are really steering us toward success and are committed to help us increase the support for their respective units.”
Albrecht said she knows it’s going to require a lot of effort to increase the amount of money donated to USU. She said there are more than 100,000 USU alumni, but only 11 percent give donations or are involved in helping to invest in the university. Albrecht recognizes the need to connect more with these alumni and encourage them to support USU.
“We have a lot of work to do,” she said. “It’s an exciting future. Certainly a university worthy of support.”
Talbot agrees. He said the department is having a good year so far – currently, it is $7 million ahead of where it was last year – but needs to keep working hard to raise as much money as it can. He said the goal of University Advancement is to broaden the donor base and engage more people in the cause to make USU a household name.
“It’s time for Utah State to move the university forward beyond Cache Valley,” Talbot said. “There’s a lot of good things that are happening at Utah State right now.”
Albrecht is optimistic about the future. She said she hopes to work with the deans and Hall in particular so he can be a key player in increasing private support.
“It really is an exciting time,” she said. “People give to success. The leadership we have right now could not be better. The timing is perfect.”
-lstapley@cc.usu.edu