Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Virginia Clark will step down from her position at Penn to become the director of external affairs at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Clark, who has held several positions at Penn over the past two decades, announced yesterday that she will take on her new post at the end of the summer.
Since she started working in Development and Alumni Relations in 1994, Clark has raised $2.1 billion for the University, $900 million of which have come from efforts over the past five years to support the Agenda for Excellence, the 1996 strategic plan geared toward improvements in the University's academics, financial affairs and physical appearance.
"The Smithsonian is certainly an institution that has a national and international reputation," Clark said. "It has a wonderful mission in terms of educating and exciting Americans about their culture and history, and they need resources."
University President Judith Rodin said that Clark's contributions to the University's financial growth will be missed.
"Certainly, Virginia Clark is one of our most valued leaders," Rodin said. "We are in her debt for building a talented leadership team and for working with the deans in fundraising efforts."
Rodin noted that Clark has played a significant role in improving alumni relations over the past nine years, as well.
Clark "has also worked tirelessly to improve Penn's communications with its alumni, with a special emphasis on the younger generation and promoting diversity," Rodin said.
According to Clark, the opening of the position at the Smithsonian comes at the right time, partly because the University will be embarking on the development of a new fundraising plan in the fall.
"I've certainly loved every minute of my work here, but if I was going to make a switch to do anything else, this was a good time to do it," Clark said. "The University is about to begin planning its new financial needs for the new strategic plan, so it's the right time in terms of that."
Clark also cited personal reasons for her decision to leave her current position.
Prior to her appointment in Development and Alumni Relations, Clark served as the Wharton School's associate dean for external affairs and worked in the publications office.
While the University has not set a timeline for finding a replacement for Clark, Rodin noted that the University would be conducting a nationwide search to fill the position.
"This was a relatively sudden decision, so we'll be discussing our plans later this week," Rodin said. "In the short term, we have a very talented group of vice presidents and all of the deans have their own development operations within the schools, so there's no immediate concern about timing here."
Over the last semester, Clark has not been the only upper-tier administrator to step down from her position at Penn for a job elsewhere.
In addition to Executive Vice President John Fry's announcement in February that he would accept the presidency at Franklin and Marshall College, Vice Provost for Information Systems and Computing Jim O'Donnell announced last month that he would take a job as provost at Georgetown University.
Rodin said that this rapid turnover of upper-level administrators is a testament to the University's capability in building strong leaders.
"Penn is the place that spawns the leadership for other institutions," Rodin said. "These are wonderful promotions, and they should be viewed with celebration that we're seen as a place that people want to come to when they look for leaders."
Nevertheless, Clark noted that she would not be leaving Penn without regrets.
"It's been really great to see what the money we've raised has done -- whether it's funding Vagelos Labs, Perelman Quad or the scholarships that we give to students," Clark said. "But everybody needs new challenges, and this came at the right time."
