University of Arkansas Appoints Pontious as Associate Vice Chancellor for Development

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Bruce E. Pontious

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Bruce E. Pontious, who has served as a fund-raising executive at The Ohio State University for the past 21 years, has been appointed associate vice chancellor for university development at the University of Arkansas. He will begin his new role on Sept. 15, 2008.

Pontious, 58, will fill a key advancement position last held permanently by Sandy Edwards, who left the university in 2007 to become associate director of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Mark Power, executive director of development, has served as interim associate vice chancellor since last fall.

“Bruce is one of the most experienced and successful people in our business and he is a great addition to our team,” said Brad Choate, vice chancellor for university advancement. “Bruce has been very successful at Ohio State and is clearly recognized nationally as one of the best. We are very fortunate to attract him to the University of Arkansas.”

As assistant vice president for professional colleges/units and regional programs at Ohio State since 2005, Pontious supervises development programs for five major academic and auxiliary units at the university, as well as five regional major gift programs – responsibilities he assumed in August 2006 - based in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Naples (FL) and the Southwestern States region. Under his leadership, those colleges and units raised more than $342 million – approximately 40 percent of the institution’s overall fund-raising activity – through 2007.

In his new role at the University of Arkansas, Pontious will oversee all units of university development, including the offices of annual giving, corporation and foundation relations, development research, gift services, information services and planned giving.

“I am very excited about joining the nationally recognized development program at the University of Arkansas,” said Pontious. “With the caliber of leadership that exists in the advancement division and throughout the university, we surely will realize tremendous successes in the coming years.”

Prior to his current position at Ohio State, Pontious had served in a series of progressively responsible executive positions at the university, one of the nation’s largest academic institutions with more than 60,000 students and nearly 400,000 living alumni. From 2000 to 2005, he was associate vice president for health sciences and senior director of medical center development and alumni affairs, in charge of fund-raising for the fourth largest medical school in the nation, schools of public health and allied medical professions, five university hospitals, a cancer hospital, and three medical research institutes.

Pontious began his tenure at Ohio State as director of medical center development, a position he held from 1987 to 1995. He then was promoted to assistant to the vice president for health sciences, a post he held until 2000. In that capacity, he led a $270 million campaign for the university’s health services entities that exceeded the original goal by $80 million.

From 1980 to 1987, Pontious aided the fund-raising efforts for United Church Homes, Inc. of Marion, OH, serving his final two years as senior vice president for development, public relations and marketing. The organization is one of the leading midwestern health care management and development corporations of not-for-profit retirement centers and senior housing facilities.

Pontious holds a bachelor’s degree from Heidelberg College, where he later worked in admissions, alumni and church relations from 1972 to 1978. He also has completed course work toward a master of education degree. He and his wife, Denise, have one adult son, Ryan.