VP of Advancement absent come June
Hartford says the search is on for Dittmann's replacement
Chrjstina Holder
Ectitor in Chief
Last week the Herald broke
the news that the vice presi
dent of Institutional
Advancement will leave the
College by June 2002-only a
year and four months after she
began her tenure.
News of Jane Dittmann's
resignation came as a surprise
to administration, faculty and
students last week considering
the administration's announce
ment this past September of an
estimated $2,000 tuition
increase per year until 2004.
Dittmann will leave Mered
ith and relocate to London,
England following her mar
riage this summer.
She joined the College
administration in February
2001 at a juncture she then
described as "an exciting time
in the history of Meredith Col
lege."
It was then that the College
was only in the preliminary
stages of preparing an aggres
sive fundraising campaign.
She was hired to replace the
former vice president of Insti
tutional Advancement Dr
Murphy Osborne who retired
from the position after 13
years.
During her time at the Col
lege, Diitmann has served on
the Senior Management Team,
a body composed of the vice
presidents of the six main
offices on campus and the
President of the College. Her
primary responsibilities
included implementing new
fundraising initiatives by
working with alumnae, par
ents. foundations and corpora
tions.
Dittmann also organized
seven ad hoc planning com
mittees composed of faculty,
volunteers and administrators
to tackle preparations for the
launch of the
capital campaign.
She built the Meredith Fund,
hired seven new staff persons
to assist with financial endeav
ours in her office and devel
oped a detailed, tiered gift-giv
ing plan for outside donors.
Yet her
preparation may
not be enough to
completely dispel
the fears of stu
dents and faculty
who question
possible
instability after
Dittmann's depar
ture.
Dittmann and
many of the
administration
contend chat the
fundraising cam
paign will not
suffer after she
leaves.
"My feeling is
to take the role of
leadership seri-
ousiy-and I do.”
said Dittmann.
"but empowering
the people below
you is key.”
Diitmann. a
self-described
“process person."
has made it her
personal goal to
build layers of
leadership in' her
office.
"If you put the
processes in
place, the work is
going to continue
at a very high
level.” she said.
Dr. Maureen
Hartford, president of the Col
lege. said that Dittmann had
"put together a very strong
team.”
“They have a vision.” she
said.
Dittmann. meanwhile, is
confident that the team can go
on without her. She believes
her whole purpose in serving as
vice president of Institutional
Avancement was in "position
ing tthe] office for a major
campaign."
The administration and staff
are "entirely capiil’le of
functioning whether I am here
or not.” she said.
Dittmann will leave the
fundraising campaign during
its “quiet phase.” a term used
by professional in the field for
the planning stage of a
campaign.
Diitmann said that a stan
dard campaign takes 5 to 7
years, and the College will
approach its “nucleus phase” at
the beginning of July in which
it will begin raising a
significant amount of money.
She projects the College will
enter its “public phase." a stage
in which ii will announce its
specific financial goal for the
community, by the fall of 2004.
She feels that her efforts in
reorganizing the office will
prepare the College for the next
phase.
Dittmann, who formerly
served as the associate dean for
advancement in Duke's Trinity
College of arts and
sciences, left the col
lege during the "public
phase" of its $400 mil
lion campaign in
which 78% of the
money, had been
raised-
Colleen Fitzpatrick,
replaced Dittmann at
Trinity, .said that
Dittmann “established
the groundwork” for
the $400 million cam
paign.
As for now, the
process of filling
Dittmann’s vacancy
has begun. Dittmann
is working with Hart
ford to identify possi
ble candidates.
• However, there will
be one major differ
ence from the last time
the College sought to
fill this position.
“We are not going
to go through the full
national process that
we went through with
Jane," said Hartford.
"It takes a long time.”
Instead, administra
tors will gather names
of prospects and orga
nize a campus search
committee.
Hartford said that a
candidate from within
the College was
possible.
Hartford hopes to have a
new' vice president of Institu
tional Advancement by the
time Dittmann leaves.
Dittmann will fulfill her one-
year contract before leaving the
College.
Dittmann will leave her position as vice president of Institutional Advancement
in June 2002.
Photo Courtesi of the Office of Masketinc \nd Com.mvmc*tions
NTHE INSIDE:
ON CONSTRUCTION:
Students take a tour of the new
building to study architecture,
page 2
ON MEALS:
Selection at the BeeHive is less
toward closing hours,
page 4