Officials announced the vice president for University advancement in a University release Wednesday.
David Unruh, who has served as the senior vice president for institutional advancement at Drexel University since 2014, will take over as the vice president for University advancement on Aug. 1, per the release. Donna Arbide, who has served in the role since March 2018, announced in January that was leaving the University to prioritize her health.
Unruh’s appointment follows the March renaming of the office from the Division of Development and Alumni Relations to the Division of University Advancement.
The vice president for University advancement oversees GW’s fundraising and alumni and parent engagement, while working with University leadership to foster relationships with donors and the Board of Trustees to identify future board members, per the job posting.
“Higher ed is in a really challenging moment right now, but the things that stood out for me in talking with people at GW were the enthusiasm for the place, the real commitment to moving forward with the strategic framework being put in place and the support that President Granberg enjoys among the community,” Unruh said in the release.
Unruh is Granberg’s second senior leadership appointee after hiring Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff Scott Mory in March 2024. Granberg said last week that the University will begin a nationwide search for a new provost after Chris Bracey announced he will step down as the University’s chief academic officer on June 30 after four years in the role.
Granberg said in the release that Unruh’s prior experience across a range of institutions, including urban private research universities similar to GW, has prepared him for his upcoming role where he will bring “clear and ambitious ideas” to strengthen the University’s alumni engagement and philanthropic support.
Unruh has served in numerous higher education fundraising and relations roles, including serving as the associate vice president of alumni relations and development at the University of Chicago from 2007 to 2010 and senior vice president for institutional advancement at Temple University from 2010 to 2012, per the release.
Unruh said in the release the University has to provide alumni with opportunities that reflect their interests, like younger alumni potentially wanting more social or career networking opportunities from GW and more mature alumni wanting “nostalgic experiences.” He said his work at GW will focus on helping the institution “thrive” to set students and faculty up for success.
Unruh said curiosity will assist him in his new role to understand the motivations of potential philanthropists in order for the University to help them to achieve their desired outcomes.
“If there’s a cause, a purpose or an outcome they’re specifically interested in and want to put their resources towards, we need to understand how to bring together various threads of the institution in ways that enable that,” Unruh said in the release.
The job posting stated the “target compensation” for the role includes a base salary of $650,000 plus a “generous incentive plan” that includes medical and retirement options.
