150: Scott Roberts, Oklahoma State University Foundation

Scott Roberts holds an associate’s degree from Missouri State University–West Plains, a bachelor’s from the College of the Ozarks, and a master’s in public administration from the University of Nevada–Las Vegas. After college he played professional basketball in Germany and Sweden for two years.Roberts first entered the world of fundraising as a district executive for the Boy Scouts of America. He loved the job and seeing how he could positively impact others. Two years later, a volunteer urged him to apply for a job as director of major gifts at Pittsburg State University in Kansas, where he found his real passion. He served as director of university development at Pittsburg State University where he directed a $120 million comprehensive capital campaign.From there, he spent nine years at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) first as associate vice president and then promoted internally to vice president for philanthropy and alumni engagement/President of the UNLV Foundation, which he led to annual fundraising records in both 2017 and 2018 with an all time high of $93 million. During his tenure, UNLV raised more than $500 million and saw a 56 percent increase in the number of gifts and a 51 percent increase in donors.In 2019, Roberts served as President and CEO of the University of Connecticut Foundation, also setting all time fundraising records in 2020 and 2021. In this capacity he oversaw a team of 160 staff and an operating budget of nearly $25 million.Roberts joined the Oklahoma State University foundation as the vice president of development in 2021. In his current capacity he oversees nearly 100 staff responsible for fundraising, marketing/communications, donor relations and prospect development. OSUF raised $208 million in FY22 and began the planning phase of the next campaign.Throughout his career, Roberts has been involved with numerous nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. He served on the Blackbaud Higher Education Executive Advisory Board and the Board of Directors for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Foundation. He has also sat on the CASE District VII Board of Directors and is a member of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.