EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has hired a new fundraising executive who will lead the university's foundation.
Seth Walker, a development executive from a university in the Atlanta area, will take the role of SIUE's vice chancellor for university advancement (VCUA) and CEO of the SIUE Foundation, effective Aug. 1, pending approval by the SIU Board of Trustees, which next meets July 21.
Walker will succeed Rachel Stack, who had joined the university in 2014 and retired June 30. During her tenure, SIUE's endowment reached an all-time high of $38 million and her team raised $35 million for the university, including projects such as the Fowler Student Design Center for the School of Engineering, among other milestones.
Stack had announced in October that she planned to retire, and a national search for her successor was launched earlier this year. Cathy Taylor, formerly senior director of constituent relations and special projects, has served as interim vice chancellor for university advancement and CEO of the SIUE Foundation since April 11.
As SIUE's vice chancellor for university advancement, Walker will oversee the university's annual giving, financial affairs, major gifts, prospect research, stewardship, planned giving and constituent relations, as well as the SIUE Alumni Association and the SIUE Foundation board of directors, according to a press release.
Walker most recently has been senior director of development for Kennesaw State University's Coles College of Business, Graduate College, College of Professional Education and Division of Global Affairs. Kennesaw, with campuses in Kennesaw and Marietta, Georgia, is Georgia's third-largest public university, with more than 43,000 students. In addition to creating programs to develop financial resources to allow students to complete their degrees, in his post at KSU, Walker worked to identify research and philanthropic funding opportunities and to create programs for corporations interested in research and recruiting across its nine colleges.
Read the full story on the St. Louis Business Journal website.
