VP for Advancement, Erin Minné, Announced

Dear Colleagues,

It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of Erin Minné as senior vice president for Advancement. She will begin working at DePaul on Sept. 15.

I am especially happy to welcome Erin because she is already an extended member of our DePaul family. Her daughter is a student in the School of Music, and I could not be more thrilled to add a DePaul parent to our senior leadership team.

A seasoned professional with fundraising certification, Erin brings decades of advancement experience in higher education to DePaul. She currently serves as vice president for university advancement at Illinois State University and executive director of the ISU Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that manages the private gifts given to the university each year. During her time at ISU, she significantly increased donor retention and the number of alumni donors. She also raised faculty, staff and retiree giving to more than $1 million for the first time in the university’s history.

Prior to her time at ISU, she was the vice president for development at The University of Iowa Foundation. Over the course of nine years, she led multiple campaigns and doubled her team’s productivity within a very short timeframe. Primarily focused on health sciences, Erin managed a $500 million campaign for the university’s medical center and supervised eight-figure capital campaigns for the College of Public Health and Dentistry. Erin also created and managed the first stewardship and donor relations unit at Michigan Technological University. She has directed fundraising strategies for Boysville of Michigan and the American Cancer Society.

Born and raised in the Detroit area, Erin is a graduate of Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan. She earned a master’s degree in philanthropy and development from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. In addition to her daughter, she has two grown stepsons. In the coming months, she and her husband will relocate to the Chicago area.

I am very appreciative of the time and expertise the search committee, chaired by our board member, Dan Ustian, devoted to this task. I am especially grateful for their efficiency, recognizing the importance of having a new senior vice president in place as soon as possible in order to keep our momentum rolling.

I also would like to thank our very own Erin Moran for serving as the interim vice president for Advancement during this time of transition. Throughout her 17 years at DePaul, Erin has consistently provided leadership across the Office of Advancement and contributed significantly to the success of the Many Dreams, One Mission campaign. She will return to her regular position as associate vice president and chief of staff for Advancement on Sept. 15. I am thankful for her exceptional hard work and dedication to DePaul. I also am grateful to the entire Office of Advancement, which has stepped up in so many ways in these intervening months. Our new senior vice president is inheriting a highly accomplished team, and I look forward to celebrating even more fundraising achievements.

Gratefully,

Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M.
President

Source: Email, President's Office, August 18, 2014

Book Club Meeting August 6

There was a great turn out and discussion August 6 on "The Man He Became".  We agreed that the medical information and description of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's struggle with polio was comprehensive and highly informative.  That led to observations as to how that struggle and his resulting infirmity reflected the mood of the nation at the time.  The narrative crafted by FDR and those around him, of a man knocked down who rose up, gave Americans a way to reinterpret the era in a positive manner.  The insight that the American public was able to disguise the evidence of their eyes, so that the national and personal narratives could mesh, also emerged from this conversation.  FDR's task to establish Warm Springs for fellow polio sufferers was noted, as was the social stigma than attached to anyone defined as crippled.  We commented on his incredible ability to manage his interpersonal relations without ever discussing with anyone how he felt about his polio; and to keep his immediate family at a distance from his own emotional state.  Our conversation on this aspect of the life of FDR proved rewarding for all, even those who had not been able to read the book.

Our discussion of history led to talk of World War I, and we then agreed that our next book would be Paul Fussell's “The Great War and Modern Memory” a highly acclaimed synthesis of literature and history. Here is just one of the recent reviews of this book, very timely in the observance of the centennial of the start of World War I.  It is available in paperback, electronically, and through libraries. We look forward to our discussion on October 1 at 1:30 pm.