134: Joe Kender, St. Joseph's University

Joe Kender serves as Senior Vice President for University Relations at Saint Joseph’s University. In this role, he oversees the strategy and execution of university advancement and government & community relations. His primary aim is to position the university externally among a wide array of constituents ranging from our immediate community to the region and the university’s nearly 70,000 alumni and parents.Kender has more than 30 years of experience working at three institutions - Saint Joseph's University, Lehigh University, and Georgetown University. A creative and collaborative leader, Joe brings expertise in building organizations for sustained excellence and raising capital. During his career, he has worked with university leadership and boards to drive broad institutional excellence and performance.Specialties: Institutional strategic planning and implementation; Board management and recruitment; Partnering with leadership on a wide array of issues that span the institution; Proven ability to work effectively with academic leadership and members of the academy; Understanding of the higher ed business model and the role of philanthropy; Public speaking and public relations; Building high-performing teams; Acquiring and managing talent; Creating a positive culture to drive performance; Campaign planning and implementation; Broad understanding and experience with virtually every facet of a sophisticated advancement program; Raising capital - specifically, working with donors to bring transformative impact to institutions.Kender holds a BA and an MBA, both from Lehigh University.