UR Finance Resources

Our UR Finance team has developed some new training resources that are relevant to individuals who manage or contribute to a budget as well as all individuals who use any University-issued cards, Concur or are involved in any contracts. These resources are now part of the onboarding process for new hires but we thought that it would be helpful to communicate the availability of these short, video-based trainings:

Please let Patty Kokesh, Rachel Myers or Rachel Schaefer know if you have any questions.

Development Condo

As a reminder, the department maintains a townhome property within Eddy Street Commons for use by significant benefactors, guests of University leaders, and internal UR staff members. While donor and University leadership requests will always take top priority, the condo is generally available for work-related stays for UR staff, and should be kept in mind as a cost-effective option for remote employees. Any remote staff traveling to campus for meetings and/or donor visits are allowed to submit a request for use of the townhome, and the property may also be shared by multiple staff members of the same sex if all parties are amenable. Requests for full family stays are allowed as well, though in the event the condo is being shared by multiple parties, again, all involved must be amenable. The condo itself consists of 4 bedrooms (including a total of 2 queen beds, 1 full bed, and 2 twin beds), 3.5 bathrooms, as well as a 2-car garage, though one spot within the garage is currently being used to house our golf cart.

All requests for use of the Development townhome should be submitted through this Google Form at least six weeks prior to the requested dates, when possible. All requests will be reviewed by Brian Diss, Marty Harshman, and Sara Liebscher to determine approval, which if granted will be communicated four weeks prior to check-in. The only costs incurred for internal staff for use of the property is a $285 cleaning fee, which will be charged to (or split across) the appropriate staff member budget lines at the conclusion of the stay. Please contact Brent Henningfeld with any questions about the townhome or the process to request a reservation.

Central Team Announcement: Thanks and Congrats, Jason

Dear Colleagues,

I write to inform you that, after careful discernment and consideration, Jason Scarlett has accepted an opportunity to move from his current role as Senior Director for the Central region to take on a Regional Director role, working with a portfolio of highly engaged and generous Notre Dame benefactors.

Jason has served as Senior Director for the Central region for the past 3 years, a team he has been an integral member of for more than 14 years (in what was previously the Midwest region). During his time as Senior Director, Jason has led the team to more than $220 million in production and record years in production and mission giving this past fiscal year.

If you have worked with Jason, you know of his passion, selflessness and commitment to Notre Dame and his teammates. We have talked openly about where he can continue to best provide leadership to the team and the University. It is fitting that, just today, Jason booked a $17.4 million leadership gift from the Reisert family, with whom he has cultivated a wonderful relationship. It is one of many that Jason has built and strengthened in his more than 14 years at Notre Dame, over which time he has closed 122 leadership gifts for $152 million in direct support of the University.

For as difficult of a decision as this was, Jason, along with George, Jerry, Sara, Lou and I all agreed that, at this time, we need Jason’s leadership, experience and track record of success in the field, working with several of our topmost benefactors to further Notre Dame and its mission. Jason will continue to lead the Central team until a new Senior Director is in place.

With Jason’s transition, we now have two open Senior Director positions. George, Jerry, Sara and I will be in touch next week regarding next steps in the process to identify the right leaders for these teams. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions at all.

In the meantime, please join me in thanking Jason for his continued leadership and congratulating him on this exciting new chapter in his Notre Dame journey.

All the best,
Ryan

Come Eat Pie!

Team,

Please feel free to stop by the ESC 3rd Floor Cafe where we have an assortment of pies available in celebration of Pi Day! And a very special thanks to our pie suppliers:

Colleen Bailey-Knapke
Ernestine Gardner
Stephanie Washington
Bailey Smith
Katie O’Friel
Grace Prosniewski
Wendy Garcia Sigala
Pamela Mullin
Bec Grose
Sondra Solloway

New Development Administration Partnerships

Dear Colleagues,

I’m happy to share that Angie Palsak has been promoted to an Assistant Program Director on the Development Administration Team. In this role, Angie will join forces with Kristin Schoenfeld, Samantha Checkley, and Roz Palusci in partnering with the ERD’s and SRD’s. With the addition of Angie, a few partnerships are moving to better align the ERD with the SRD and regions who work most closely.

Beginning March 18, the following partnerships will be in place:
Kristin Schoenfeld will work with George West, Tim Kelly, and Nadia Erickson
Samantha Checkley will work with Ryan Brennan, Jason Scarlett, and Shelby Carroll
Roz Palusci will work with Jerry Barca, Ashley Gerard, and Sean Sharpe
Angie Palsak will work with Erin Newkirk, Joe Dietz, and myself.

Angie joined the Development team in December of 2022 as a development coordinator. Angie has been supporting fundraisers and co-leading the efforts to create training modules for new development coordinators. Angie came to Notre Dame with a host of experience after spending time at a financial institution and another higher education institution where she served for eighteen years.

Erin, Joe, and I are eager to begin working with Angie on a daily basis.

Thank you,
Amy

Advancement Services Announcement

Dear colleagues,

In light of previous organizational changes, we conducted an assessment of how to best provide professional development opportunities within University Relations and that has led to the difficult decision to discontinue the UR position: Program Manager, Learning & Leadership Development, effective March 7, 2024.

I want to thank Bryan Reaume, who has faithfully served in this position for the past 8 years. Bryan’s commitment to our team and our mission has been evident in everything he accomplished during his tenure, including the launching of our UR CASE internship program, the monthly Learn and Lead sessions, and several cohorts of the Burns Leadership program. I am grateful to Bryan for his service in this role, and wish him well as he continues to serve the University outside of University Relations.

Over the coming months, I will collaborate with the UR Senior Leadership team and partners in NDHR to evaluate the current and future needs for professional development programs within University Relations and develop a long-term strategy in this area. Our people are the most critical component to our success as a division, and our investment in your continued learning and growth is of utmost priority. I welcome your participation and feedback in this process, and will offer times and forums for you to provide this feedback in the near future.

Moving forward, Stephanie Washington, Associate Director of Learning and Leadership Development, will continue to lead the execution of our onboarding efforts, and will report to Adria Logan. Additionally, Adria, Stephanie, and the Talent Acquisition team will provide oversight for the 2024 UR Summer Intern cohort. I am grateful to each of them for being willing to take on these efforts this year.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Brian

Huddle Room Availability

Many of you have received emails from me about various huddle rooms that you have booked on the third floor of ESC in the coming weeks. I wanted to send a more comprehensive update about these rooms as well as what options exist for small meetings and calls over the next few weeks. The following rooms will be impacted by various furniture swaps just after the dates shown below:

  • Leahy (offline after February 28th)

  • Cavanaugh (offline after February 28th)

  • Badin (offline after February 28th)

  • 3777 (offline after March 8th)

  • 3778 (offline after March 8th)

  • First-come first-served huddle rooms next to George West’s current office and Anne Overly’s former office (not available after February 28th)

At the upcoming Blueprint, we will be going through an updated floor plan and instructions for booking newly created huddle rooms where the vacated Annual Giving and Prospect Management offices existed. Until then, we ask that you use the following rooms on a first-come, firstserved basis for small meetings and calls:

  • Office #3121, Katie Kerby’s vacated office, will remain available throughout construction

  • All other offices lining the Annual Giving area have furniture swaps taking place February 29th and March 1st but are available for drop-in meetings/calls starting the week of March 4th

  • The two huddle rooms near the Family Room in the “Blue Room” area will remain available throughout construction

  • Cavanaugh Room has furniture swaps taking place February 29th and March 1st but is available for drop-in meetings/calls starting the week of March 4th

  • Badin Room has furniture swaps taking place February 29th and March 1st but is available for drop-in meetings/calls starting the week of March 4th

  • The Family Room, when not in use, can be a great place to have an impromptu meeting with a colleague

And then there are still a couple of currently bookable rooms available that are ideal for smaller meetings as well, both of which will remain available throughout construction:

  • Rockne Room

  • Hammes Room
  • Holy Cross Room

During this transition period, we understand that finding a space for a small meeting may be more difficult but we appreciate your patience as we work through this. Please reach out with any questions or concerns!

Patty Kokesh

Annual Giving Texting Data Error

I want to alert you of a texting data issue that impacted several assigned benefactors yesterday. We intended to send a text alerting unassigned, undergraduate alumni of their dropped/missing 2024 football ticket lottery status and the text mistakenly went to certain individuals who do qualify for the 2024 Football Ticket Lottery, some of whom are assigned. I am very disappointed by this because our team should never reach out to assigned benefactors for things of this nature. Our communication with assigned benefactors is primarily restricted to stewardship and engagement based on their level of giving (Giving Society stewardship, etc.).

Everyone who received the text incorrectly also received an apology text 20 minutes later. Our team has been responsive to all inquiries and people have been very understanding, but I wanted to share a list of assigned benefactors who were impacted in case you also wanted to reach out to them.

Here is the list of people who are impacted >

I am really sorry about this issue. Please know how committed I am to ensuring this does not happen again.

-Katie Kerby

Windows 11 Upgrade

If you received an email from Development devhelp to upgrade to Windows 11, your action is required!  The upgrade can take up to 2 hours so please install the Windows upgrade on your computer at your convenience and a time that will not interfere with your work schedule prior to Friday, March 1, 2024.  

If you do not perform this upgrade by Friday, March 1, 2024 the Windows 11 upgrade will automatically be installed when you login to your computer on or after Monday, March, 4, 2024, preventing you from working until it is complete.

If performing the upgrade from home, please be sure you are connected to the VPN!

Northwest Team Update

Dear UR Team,

I wanted to let you know that Sean Sharpe informed Lou, Sara, and the Executive Directors that he will step away from leading the Northwest Team and become a fundraiser in regional development.

In his own words, Sean said, “This decision comes not only with mixed emotions, but with gratitude and excitement; I have truly enjoyed being a part of and leading the Northwest region, and am thankful for the opportunity. I am eternally grateful for the dedication, hard work, and collaboration among our team and the broader UR family. Our ERD/SRD team is the best in higher education, and I am grateful to be a part of it. I am also excited to contribute in a different capacity, as I feel at this time in my journey it is the best use of my skills and experience, and the most effective way for me to serve Our Lady and drive philanthropy for Notre Dame.”

I want to acknowledge Sean for giving everything he had to lead the Northwest Team. I am inspired by his commitment to serve Notre Dame and by the courage it takes to make this call. I have great admiration for both. Sean will remain the leader of the Northwest Team until the next Senior Regional Director is selected.

Though he will be in a new role, we will count on Sean to continue to be a leader in our department. With his energy, excitement and dedication to Notre Dame, I know success will follow for him in this next role.

For the Northwest team, we will begin discussions for that next leader shortly. More details to follow.

In Notre Dame,

Jerry