Joseph Hunter has agreed to join Linfield University as vice president for university advancement.
He will report to President Miles K. Davis, is responsible for designing and implementing comprehensive university advancement programs and serves as one of the five members of the President’s Leadership Team.
Hunter’s first day will be January 11.
“We are excited to welcome Joseph Hunter at a key moment in Linfield’s history,” President Davis said. “His background and experience will help accelerate Linfield’s fundraising efforts at a time we’re evolving from college to university and expanding what we offer to students.”
Hunter was most recently the assistant vice chancellor of development at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., where he oversaw a team of 35 in raising about $30 million per year.
“I want to help Linfield reach its full potential in fundraising and alumni and donor relations and become a ‘best in class’ advancement organization,” Hunter said.
Prior to Vanderbilt, Hunter helped lead or contributed to successful fundraising campaigns in such varied institutions as Wichita State University ($250 million), Western Washington University ($62 million), University of Oregon ($835 million) and the University of Wyoming ($206 million).
He has served in higher-education advancement for 19 years, beginning as a graduate student at Virginia Tech.
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Hunter earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Dayton and holds two master’s degrees from Virginia Tech. He will be joined in McMinnville by his wife, Sarah, and their two children.
“I was attracted to Linfield for a variety of reasons, but mostly because of the great potential that I have seen under President Davis’s leadership,” Hunter said. “There’s obviously a great sense of entrepreneurialism. From the outside looking in, I saw an exciting moment where the university is poised to reach a new level, including in advancement. I really wanted to be a part of that.”
Linfield University is an independent, nonprofit university with campuses in McMinnville and Portland, Oregon. Since 1858, Linfield has connected a traditional liberal arts experience with practical education through 56 majors, including wine studies, sport management and nursing. Linfield has been recognized four years running for having the Best Ethnic Diversity in the Pacific Northwest by U.S. News and World Report. Thirty-two percent of Linfield students are first-generation college students, and more than one-third are U.S. students of color. Linfield competes in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference. Learn more at www.linfield.edu.
