In early August 2016, President Martin announced the realignment of services to create the Division of University Advancement, which comprised three offices: Alumni Relations, Development, and University Communications.

One of my first actions was to appoint Dave Remund as executive director of University Communications. He officially started in this role last week and has already been hard at work meeting with partners across campus and within University Advancement to better understand University Communications’ role at Drake, and how that office—and all of University Advancement—can best serve all parts of the Drake community.

I announced another new change to my team last week: In keeping with the division’s strategic focus on external relations, Nick Valdez, neighborhood & community relations manager, will join the University Advancement team, reporting directly to me.

Nick’s alignment with University Advancement makes operational and strategic sense. His active engagement with community partners, his relationship building responsibilities, his strong connection to advancing Drake’s public image, and his overall “outward looking” function make him and his work a perfect match for our shared responsibility to engage and inspire our alumni and friends in support of our University’s mission.

Supporting his professional responsibilities, Nick will work from the Alumni House. This remarkable facility will serve Drake and Nick well as the “front-door” to the University’s community engagement.

This is an exciting new chapter for Drake. All units within University Advancement share a common commitment to advancing Drake’s mission through promoting, positioning, advocating, and story-telling. What we do individually matters greatly; what we do together powerfully advances the Drake experience for our students, alumni, campus partners, and the community.

All of us in University Advancement look forward to collaborating with campus partners in pushing forward the exceptional work and meaningful mission of this great University.

—John Smith, Vice President for University Advancement