Joan O’Neill, the University’s associate vice president for development, will take the helm of the University’s fundraising efforts when Vice President for Development Inge Reichenbach steps down next month, University President Richard Levin announced on Tuesday.
In November 2011, five months after the end of the $3.88 billion Yale Tomorrow campaign, Reichenbach announced her plans to retire this June, launching a search for her replacement. At the time, several administrators commended Reichenbach for her ability to foster leadership within the University’s development office. Though Levin and University Provost Peter Salovey considered candidates from across the country, Levin said it became clear the hire should be internal.
“We did not need to look beyond our own campus to find the finest leader for the Yale Office of Development in the years ahead,” Levin said in the email. “Throughout her career Joan has established close relations with hundreds, if not thousands, of Yale alumni and friends.”
As associate vice president for development, O’Neill oversaw the Office of Development’s information services and acted as the primary liaison between the central Office of Development and most of Yale’s school and unit development offices.
O’Neill assumed her current role in 2003, and served as an acting vice president for development during the 2004-’05 academic year.
“In this role she was instrumental in planning and designing the strategy for the Yale Tomorrow campaign,” Levin said. “She provided strong strategic leadership to development staff during a time of transition and prepared the team for the launch of this campaign.”
Over the course of the five-year campaign, O’Neill’s efforts led to $1.2 billion in donations, according to the announcement.