EPISODE · Nov 21, 2023 · 56 MIN
169: Shaun Keister, University of California, Davis
from RAISE Podcast
Shaun Keister became UC Davis’ first vice chancellor for development and alumni relations in 2011 and functions as the campus’s chief development officer, leading a team of over 300, and president of the UC Davis Foundation. In his role as vice chancellor, Keister also serves on the Chancellor’s Leadership Council. He led UC Davis in completing its first comprehensive campaign raising more than $1.13 billion from 110,000 donors. He led the planning and recent execution of the university’s $2 billion Expect Greater campaign launch. Previously, Keister served in leadership development roles at Penn State, Florida State, and Iowa State. Keister is an active member of CASE, having both chaired and participated in many district, national, and international conferences. He is a recipient of the CASE Crystal Apple award in recognition of his outstanding performance at CASE international educational programs. Most recently, Keister has served on the CASE Philanthropy Commission. Keister has a bachelor's degree in political science from Penn State and a master's and doctoral degree in sociology from Iowa State.
What this episode covers
On this episode, Brent chats with Shaun Keister, Vice Chancellor of Development & Alumni Relations at UC Davis and President of the UC Davis Foundation. Brent and Shaun dig into the recent removal of alumni giving as a factor in national university rankings – a U.S. News and World Report metric that guided industry practices for decades. In light of this big shift, Shaun reflects on building one of the country’s first relationship-focused phonathon programs at Iowa State in the 1990’s with two main goals: 1) quality over quantity (average call times increased from 2 minutes to 10 minutes), and 2) building major gift pipeline (the minimum phonathon ask was $100). He hopes the shift in U.S. News metrics will allow advancement shops to focus more on quality and pipeline, too – and less on chasing the ever-elusive $5 gifts. During this conversation, Shaun traces his journey from a student caller at Penn State to his current position at UC Davis where “every day is paradise.” He explains his affinity for working at “advancement startups” where he can experience the challenge and thrill of building new programs. And he shares a heartwarming story about how intentional changes in stewardship processes (like adding ‘thank you’ videos from student scholars) transformed one disappointed donor into Shaun’s most treasured gift story. Tune in!
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169: Shaun Keister, University of California, Davis
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