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Proactivce development
In her new role as the senior director of development in the College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Alsatia Mellecker plans "donor-centered"
operation.
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The list of challenges that await Alsatia Mellecker as she stepped in
as the senior director of development for the College of Liberal Arts
and Sciences seemed daunting on the surface.
There are over 50,000 living alumni spread across 20 academic departments
in varying disciplines.
If that isn’t enough in itself, two separate events that happened
one after another in early August made the challenges even greater.
Coinciding with Mellecker's arrival in Catt Hall on Monday, Aug. 4, was
the announcement that Jenni Cushman, associate director of development
for the College, had been promoted by the ISU Foundation to director of
development and will be transferring to the College of Design sometime
in September. The search for Cushman's replacement is ongoing.
The very next day was the final day on campus for former LAS Dean Peter
Rabideau.
"Despite the changes over the past couple of weeks, I have high expectations
for our development program and am ready to get started immediately,"
Mellecker said.
To be fair, Mellecker knew about Rabideau's and Cushman's departures before
she came on board.
To that end, she has hit the ground running, meeting with the various
LAS department chairs in her first few weeks on the job.
Mellecker brings over 19 years of development experience within the state
of Iowa, including the last 14 years at the University of Iowa, to her
new position. She was the director of development for the College of Pharmacy
and for five years held the same position with the College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences.
Mellecker holds a degree in history and American studies from the University
of Iowa and because of this experience she has a "great appreciation
for the mission and purpose of a liberal arts education."
One of her initial plans is to meet with each of the department chairs
to determine their readiness for an active development program and to
discuss their fundraising priorities. This information is critical as
Mellecker meets with alumni who represent all the areas in the College.
From there, she plans to make the fundraising efforts in LAS "donor-centered."
"My job is to make a case, not only for need, but also for the potential
for success," she said. "To that end I serve our alumni and
donors, allowing them the opportunity to give to projects they are really
excited about.
"We need to concentrate on our best projects and find out what they
(our donors) want to support. To maximize our success, I need to develop
a more proactive rather than reactive stance."
Mellecker says working with the individual departments and the LAS Dean's
Office is fundamental in making the donor-centered approach work.
"The dean and the department chairs are integral to the success of
the development effort," she said. "So far I have been very
impressed with this college's level of understanding and willingness to
be involved in the fund raising process."
Around LAS
August 25 to September 7, 2003
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