Release date: May 16, 2007
Contact: Nancy Seideman at 404-727-0640 or nseidem@emory.edu

Emory Appoints Senior VP of Development and Alumni Relations

Susan Cruse has been appointed senior vice president for development and alumni relations at Emory University effective July 1, the university announced today.

Cruse, who is currently associate vice president for development and alumni relations for Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, will be charged with leading a new era of fundraising at Emory to support implementation of the university's ambitious ten-year strategic plan for academic and campus development.

"We are indeed fortunate to have attracted to Emory a leader such as Susan,” said Emory President James W. Wagner. "She has compiled an impressive track record in complex academic environments that closely resemble our own constellation of programs and schools.”

"Susan will bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm to Emory,” added Michael M.E. Johns, executive vice president for health affairs and chancellor-designate, who headed the Emory search committee. "In a field of very qualified candidates from first-rate institutions, she stood out by virtue of her vision for Emory's continuing ascendancy among American research universities.”

Since 1991, Cruse has worked in senior fundraising positions at UCLA, the University of California, Irvine, and Johns Hopkins, with the exception of a stint from 1997-1999, when she served as director of university alliances for the global corporation TRW, Inc.

At UCLA, she served as assistant dean of external affairs and director of development for the School of Engineering and Applied Science, leading a $50 million fundraising drive for the school as part of UCLA's overall $1.2 billion campaign.

At UC Irvine, she was assistant vice chancellor for corporate, foundation and university research park relations, serving seven academic units, student athletics, libraries, and undergraduate programs. She also planned and executed a $48 million matching fund campaign in support of one of Governor Gray Davis's California Institutes for Science and Technology, the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (CAL-(IT) 2.

At Johns Hopkins since 2003, she has helped to develop and manage day to day operations for the $2 billion Johns Hopkins Medicine campaign, serving as a member of the senior leadership teams of both the CEO/Dean of Medicine and the Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations.

Cruse said she finds it inspiring to join an academic community at Emory that has dedicated itself in its vision statement and strategic plan to serving the public good.

"Emory combines an uncompromising commitment to tackle society's most complex problems with the expertise to do so,” she said. "Private philanthropy sustains these efforts, and I look forward to fostering partnerships with those who understand the need to invest in courageous inquiry to transform the world."

A native of Santa Monica, California, Cruse holds a BA in English from UCLA. Her husband Denton is a marketing and advertising consultant and their son Tom is a rising 8th grader. She serves on the board of the Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital in Baltimore.

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Emory University is one of the nation's leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities, Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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