The search for Vice President for Development Inge Reichenbach’s successor will finish in two to three weeks, University President Richard Levin said Wednesday.
Reichenbach announced in November, five months after the conclusion of the five-year, $3.88 billion Yale Tomorrow fundraising campaign, that she would step down at the end of the academic year. At the time, Levin said the search for Reichenbach’s successor would be conducted “nationwide” and would consider candidates from both inside and outside Yale. Levin said the University is close to making a hiring decision, though he declined to specify what remains to be done or how many candidates are in “small number” that makes up the final pool.
“We’re looking for a strong leader for the operation who can maintain the strong base of support that was generated by the campaign, and continue to bring in a base of financial support for the major priorities of the University,” Levin said.
It remains unclear whether Yale will hire someone external to the University or from within the office of development, and Levin declined to comment on the backgrounds of the final candidates.
Reichenbach came to Yale from Cornell in 2005, the same year she concluded a record-breaking $386 million annual fundraising campaign in Ithaca, N.Y.. But her predecessor at Yale, Charles Pagnam, was appointed in 1997 from within the University’s central office of development, where he had served continuously since 1984.
In the past, Levin has commended Reichenbach for her ability to train staff within the office.
“She really has done a great job of building up a strong team in the development office and nurturing and advancing the careers of several people in the office for future leadership,” he said in November.
Reichenbach said she knows the announcement will come soon, but she has not been involved with the search, as is typically the case with Yale administrators and their successors. The timeline of the current search is roughly in line with the six months it took to hire Reichenbach.
Though the task of choosing the University’s next vice president for development ultimately falls under the authority of the Yale Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, Levin said the Corporation delegated the authority to appoint Reichenbach’s successor to him.
The public phase of Yale Tomorrow began in September 2006 and concluded at the end of June 2011.