Next in Line to Be Fund Raisers: Department Chairs

At a time when colleges are relying more and more on philanthropy, it’s all hands on deck. And deans aren’t the only academic leaders being asked to bring in money. Fund-raising consultants say they are conducting more trainings for department chairs about how to solicit private gifts.

Penelepe C. Hunt, a senior consultant with Marts & Lundy, has seen the most growth in the last five years in training department chairs. While some deans may be reluctant fund raisers or feel anxiety around asking for money, Ms. Hunt says, the department chairs she sees are eager to learn. Many are interested in becoming deans, and know that such experience has become a prerequisite.

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Bruce W. Flessner, a principal with Bentz Whaley Flessner, says his consulting company has been doing an increased number of trainings for department chairs as well. He has seen the evolution from presidents asking their deans to raise money to deans asking their department chairs to help.

“I suspect a decade from now, that transition will be complete, and we’ll have all kinds of people inside the academy, at every level, making their case,” Mr. Flessner said.

A big challenge for department chairs in fund raising is finding the time to do it, Mr. Flessner said. While deans usually have associate deans they can delegate to, department chairs typically do not.

However, while they lack extra staff, chairs have a closeness to the student experience that senior leaders don’t. That can resonate with alumni, especially if the department chair was at the college when the alumnus was a student or if the chair worked with a professor whom the alumnus remembers.

“If you’re a history major, the head of the history department can re-engage you in a big way,” Mr. Flessner said. “They tend to know their colleagues and have better stories about what’s going on.