With promising aspirations to advance The University of Memphis,newly appointed Vice President of Advancement Dr. Robert P.Bartlett intends to bring the institution to a higher level withinthe community and nation.
Bartlett's job is to oversee the areas of Universityadvancement, marketing and communications and alumni relations.Specifically he works with the President, Provost, the Board ofVisitors and the deans for planning, coordinating and managing thegift procurement programs at The University of Memphis. These areascover such things as fundraising, community relations, working withcorporations and building alumni connections to The University.Bartlett will assume the duties of Vice President of Advancement onJuly 14.
"I think urban universities have more opportunities today thanin the past to make changes and to be a catalyst for so many thingsthat drive cities today (economically, socially, culturally) andit's a role that's emerging for some of these places," Bartlettsaid. "The U of M is a great institution with a lot of opportunityin a city that's unique and compelling from so many perspectivesthat it couldn't be a better fit from my point of view."
The University of Memphis Search Committee placed ads inacademic journals and magazines for this position late last year.They were looking for someone with qualifications includingexperience in development and implementing fund-raising programs,ability to inspire academic values within The University and withthe stakeholders outside as well as having exceptionalcommunication and leadership skills in these areas.
Bartlett has been very successful in the development field atwell-known institutions of higher learning such as the Universityof Rochester, the University of Chicago, Cornell University andYale University. He comes to the University of Memphis fromRochester where he was the Dean of Advancement with the College ofArts, Sciences and Engineering. Bartlett managed the areas offundraising, alumni and parent relations, community outreach andmarketing communications.
Director of Communications Services, Curt Guenther, said TheUniversity of Memphis was not only looking for someone with goodcredentials but someone with experience and success in highereducation fund raising.
"We believe Dr. Bartlett has what it takes to have the samesuccess here that he had at other institutions," Guenther said.
According to co-chair of the Search Committee John Pepin, therewere 51 candidates that were reduced to 11 and finally to three.After a series of meetings, committee reviews and candidatesvisiting the campus and meeting with faculty, deans, thePresident's Board of visitors and other stakeholders,recommendations were made to University of Memphis presidentShirley Raines. Raines made the final choice.
"The process is very democratic," Pepin said. "The SearchCommittee only makes recommendations, we don't select."
Bartlett explained there is both an internal and external partto his job. It takes place externally with respect to alumni,parents, community leaders, friends and donors, corporations andphilanthropic organizations. The internal part is building thoseconnections with current students who will be alumni, faculty andstaff-to allow those people to be advocates and plugged in to theinstitution for the long term.
"That's ultimately the bottom line of the business, if you'redoing that right, than the payoffs of those relationships(advocacy, visibility, fund raising, gifts) will come about,"Bartlett said.
Dr. Bartlett said he wasn't looking for another career move butwhen he found out about this position he decided to inquire aboutit. After talking with Raines and learning more about the ideasplanned for the advancement of the University he submitted hisr�sum�.
Bartlett's decision to make his next career move to TheUniversity of Memphis also came from his desire to live in thesouth. Although he doesn't know a lot about Memphis, other thanbarbeque, Elvis and the Blues, he is looking forward to being apart of the community.
"I grew up in central Florida back when it was still the south,and I was born in West Virginia so I know the South," Bartlettsaid. "I always knew that I would end up coming back to sometraditional southern city and working for a major publicinstitution because I think that those types of places located incities that are flourishing like Memphis are the most excitingplaces in education right now."
As for what Bartlett plans to bring to The University ofMemphis, he said he hopes to bring a management and marketingperspective to the advancement department that will help to buildprograms with an integrated approach to marketing andcommunications, public relations and fundraising.
Bartlett focused on academic marketing in his graduate studiesat Cornell and hopes this perspective will bring more resources toThe University.
"That's a philosophy I incorporate in every position I have,"Bartlett said. "That kind of perspective can help bring visibilityand resources to The U of M that hasn't been there before."
"There's a lot we can do in terms of working in the Memphiscommunity that could become more involved with the institution,"Bartlett said. "We have to position the place as a resource to thecommunity, region and nation."
Bartlett said he thinks there is a lot of work to do on the fundraising side of Memphis. He said that by increasing these resourcesit would hopefully help keep various University programs alive.
"It's not a quick fix," Bartlett said. "Over time I have nodoubt, given the quality of the institution and its position in thecommunity, there's nothing but opportunity on the advancementside."
Bartlett said it's important to realize that having a successfuladvancement program depends on students and the culture on campus.As future alums, students of The University of Memphis areimportant to the life-long activity of The University. Whatstudents do while they are enrolled and after they graduate isimportant to sustaining the institution.
"These institutions thrive on people staying connected to theinstitution as a lifetime activity, they are not designed to beself-sustaining, self-supporting organizations," Bartlett said.
"It's important for students to think about what kind of rolethey can have while they're on campus and what they can do to makethe program better," Bartlett said. "After they graduate it'simportant to remember how the institution has been a part of theirlife and what it helped them accomplish."
"I believe so much that students are fundamental to the successof these programs, Bartlett said. "I hope during my tenure there wehave more and more opportunities for students to be directlyengaged in it."
Bartlett said he is looking forward to living in Memphis,working with The University and can't wait to enjoy some Memphisbarbecue.
