We are pleased to share the following IT&S organization announcements effective August 5:

Wayne Harpenau has accepted an opportunity to move from his current role as Director of Strategic Data and Analytics to take on a role as a Systems Integration Specialist. Wayne has served as Director of the Strategic Data and Analytics team for the past 2 years. During this time Wayne has led the team in migration of the reporting to asceND, and played a key role in the data migration efforts. We are deeply grateful and appreciative of his hard work and dedication. With the launch of ascend, the need for effective and accelerated integrations will increase, driven by the growing demand for automations to improve productivity and additional data which will lead to better analysis and decision-making. With Wayne’s selflessness and commitment to Notre Dame and his team, he has agreed to move into this role where this additional demand exists. Wayne’s technical acumen, experience and leadership will be instrumental in achieving increased business outcomes and advancing our mission. Wayne will report to Andrew Yocum.

Matt LaFlash will be taking on a new leadership role as the Associate Director, Business Intelligence. In this new role Matt will place increased emphasis in overseeing the data mart and the acquisition and transformation of additional data into actionable information. This effort will support the creation of reports and dashboards that deliver meaningful insights from large complex data sets. Matt will report to Carleen Quinlan, while Wieslaw Kosidlak and Ling Sun will report to him.

Tracey Mulherin will be returning to take a lead role as the Associate Director, Reporting and Analytics. In this role Tracey will lead a team to design, develop, deliver and support reporting and analytics for the development department to provide operational business needs and guide strategic decisions. This May, Tracey completed her Master’s degree in Data Science and is excited to apply her knowledge and experience to deliver and support decision-making through insightful analytics and reporting. Tracey will report to Carleen Quinlan, with Sheila McMahon, Tucker Kable, and Meggie Richard reporting to her.

Mayuri Changede will be stepping into a new role as the Associate Director, Strategic Analytics. In this role Mayuri will collaborate with senior leadership, prospect management, and Brad Goff to provide an increased focus on their reporting and analytical needs, creating solutions that enhance fundraiser efficiency and advance our mission. Mayuri will report to Carleen Quinlan.

On Monday, August 5, the Gift Planning Team will be out of the office participating in an off-site team day.

I am pleased to announce that Caitlin Hutchison has been promoted to Program Director for University Stewardship Initiatives, effective August 5th. In this new role, Caitlin will serve as the stewardship partner to the College of Arts & Letters, manage the Endowed Professorships and Directorships program within the Stewardship & Donor Relations team, and supervise a new Assistant Director who will be hired in the coming weeks to backfill her current role.

Caitlin has done an excellent job over the past year serving in the Assistant Program Director position for University Stewardship Initiatives, responsible for stewardship partnerships in the Keough School and the Arts & Architecture units. Caitlin has a firm understanding of our processes, an enthusiasm for working with University partners and benefactors through celebrations and other stewardship activities, and a quest to always learn more and seek better ways of doing our work. Further, with her academic credentials as a Ph.D. and having worked as an assistant professor of art history, Caitlin will serve Development and our benefactors well in partnering with academic units around the utilization and reporting on endowed professorships and directorships. All of these qualities and qualifications will serve her well in this next step, and I hope you will join me in enthusiastically welcoming Caitlin into her new role.

The posting for Assistant Program Director for University Stewardship Initiatives will soon be added to the jobs.nd.edu website. Please contact Caitlin or me as soon as possible if you are interested in exploring the Assistant Program Director position.

Cristi Ganyard
Senior Director, University Stewardship Initiatives

It is my privilege to announce and recognize the following colleagues who have received tier promotions for FY25. Please join me in celebrating and congratulating them — for their willingness to take on the increased goals and responsibilities, and moreover, their steadfast performance over time.

Tier 3: Mitch Dansky, Courtney Mattison, Nick Sorg, and Jess Rizzo
Tier 4: Maureen Dunkley, Ron Linczer, Chris Murphy, and Steve Sollmann

Congratulations Mitch, Courtney, Nick, Jess, Maureen, Ron, Chris, and Steve, and know we look forward to celebrating you in person at the UR Summit!

– Sara

Please keep Sharon Rankert and the entire Demski/Rankert family in your prayers as they mourn the loss of Sharon’s father, Raymond Joseph Demski.

Raymond (Ray) J. Demski, a life-long resident of South Bend, Indiana, passed away peacefully early Wednesday morning, July 17, at Memorial Hospital at the age of 90. You can read Ray’s obituary here.

A viewing will be held at St. Joseph Funeral Home on Friday July 19, from 4:00-7:00 p.m., with a rosary at 3:30 p.m.. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Casimir on Saturday, July 20, at 11:00 a.m. where Ray’s life will be celebrated and remembered by all who were touched by his kindness, generosity, and unwavering love for his family and community.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, an organization that Ray was passionate about.

Dear Colleagues,

The first fall renewal mailing (renew #1) drops in mailboxes on Friday, July 19 to our unrestricted and giving society benefactors. As a reminder, this mailing is sent to all assigned and unassigned benefactors whose annual giving is less than $25,000, asking them to renew their previous calendar year gift by their respective fund owner. This mailing is being sent to over 24,000 households and will be followed by email reminders in the weeks to come. If you have any questions regarding our renewal strategy, please reach out to the appropriate fund (Sorin, Rockne, Law, etc.) owner on the annual giving team and they can assist.

Thanks!
Annual Giving Team

I write today to share that our friend and colleague Claire Brown will be leaving her role with the Stewardship & Donor Relations team in the coming weeks. Claire has accepted a position at Saint Mary’s College that will take her career in an academically-facing direction. Given her educational background (Ph.D. in Anthropology) and interest in academic research, as well as her long-term professional goals, Claire is very excited to serve as Saint Mary’s new Director of Grants & Sponsored Research. Claire’s last day with the Stewardship & Donor Relations team will be Monday, August 5th.

Since April of 2023, Claire has served as the University Stewardship Initiatives Program Director partnering on stewardship with the College of Arts & Letters and Notre Dame Global, and she has managed the Professorships Program within Stewardship. Claire also served as a front-line supervisor within our unit. Claire has done excellent work during her time with the S&DR team and she will be missed. Please join me in thanking Claire and congratulating her on this exciting new opportunity!

We will begin a search for Claire’s replacement immediately. If you have any questions, ideas, or interest please reach out to me right away.

Sincerely,

Cristi Ganyard
Senior Director for University Stewardship Initiatives

Jimita Potter, who formerly worked in Notre Dame Development as an administrative assistant, peacefully passed away on Saturday, June 29, 2024, with her husband and daughters by her side. Jimita’s legacy of passion, integrity, and unwavering commitment to her family and community will be fondly remembered and deeply missed by all who knew her.

A visitation will be held on July 9th from 4-8 PM at Hahn Funeral Home with a rosary at 7:30 PM. A funeral mass will be held at St. Pius X on July 10th at 10:30 AM, with visitation an hour prior at church. Burial will follow at Fairview Cemetery in Mishawaka. You can view here obituary here.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Jimita Potter may be made to the Junior League of South Bend Endowment, Riverbend Cancer Services, Center for Hospice Care, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Dear Colleagues,

I write to share the bittersweet news that Jeff Faust will be leaving the Development Development for a position in the Office of Information Technology working primarily for the Office of Research.

Jeff has been an invaluable member of the Information Technology and Services team for 11 years and will be greatly missed by all of us.

I am grateful for his numerous contributions to the team and the department. Please join me in expressing heartfelt appreciation to Jeff for all his hard work and dedication. I wish him nothing but the utmost success in all his future endeavors.

-Rose