The King's Connection Magazine Volume 23 Number 1//Summer 2012 | Page 6

Faculty news NEW FACES, NEW DIRECTION ADVANCING KING’S by Dan VanKeeken VP of Instititional Advancement A dvancement efforts at King’s have taken a decidedly new direction after the board of governors agreed last year to new targets for both fund raising and student recruitment, as well as the creation of a new division and vice president for Institutional Advancement, which includes the development, enrolment services (who recruit new students) and marketing departments. The new targets include significantly larger goals for fundraising and students registering in the fall of 2013. These targets come on the heels of two major studies conducted by independent consultants, one on management structures at King’s and the second outlining ways to increase the amount of money donated. These include identifying new donors and spending more time on the road sharing the vision and making the case for King’s. Development staff will also actively pursue support from foundations and corporations, and make more effort to ensure donors have the opportunity to include King’s in their wills. Annual year-end and spring direct mail campaigns, a major ongoing source of donor support, will continue. Furthermore, engagement with supporting churches will receive renewed emphasis, in both the Christian Reformed and mainstream, evangelical and Catholic communities, from which King’s is now blessed with increasing numbers of students, faculty and staff. New leadership key To make all of this happen, leadership for these new directions is vital, and in that respect King’s is delighted to announce that Dr. Michael Ferber has been appointed Director of Development after serving King’s as Director of Environmental Studies and Assistant Professor of Geography for the past four years. Dr. Ferber will continue teaching in the environmental studies program, but will devote the majority of his time to the position of Director of Development. Before coming to King’s he served numerous roles including Marketing and Development Director at World Vision Appalachia, Vice-Principal of Heritage Christian School, and pastor. His academic research has bridged creation care, poverty studies, sustainability, geography of religion and human/environment interaction. “Mike is passionate about King’s. He has the enthusiastic spirit and the background needed to make a major contribution in development,” says President Harry Fernhout. “As faculty insider, he is in a position to mobilize faculty members’ expressed interest in promoting King’s in the broader community.” * 6 ///The King’s Connection /// Summer 2012 “ Mike is passionate about King’s. He has the enthusiastic spirit and the background needed to make a major contribution in ?]?[?Y[? ??'B????ZX?Y[?\??\??\?X???]?[?Y[???