Advancement structure undergoing changes as vice president departs

Note: This story first appeared June 6 as a breaking news update to CU Connections.

The evolution of CU’s fundraising operations continued this month with changes to reporting structure at campuses and system administration, as well as the departure of the vice president for advancement.

Last summer when leadership began shifting fundraising operations from the CU Foundation to the university, the structure put in place had campus vice chancellors for advancement reporting to both the chancellor and the system vice president for advancement. The dual-reporting organizational chart was not functioning well, President Bruce Benson wrote in a recent communication to advancement staff, and so vice chancellors for advancement now will report only to the chancellors, who in turn report to the president.

Because the change resulted in a diminished role for the vice president for advancement, Kelly Cronin decided to leave the university.

According to recent media reports, an investigation into recent unauthorized phone access into an executive session (closed to the public) meeting of the CU Foundation board also preceded Cronin’s departure. The investigation found that Cronin did not direct the unauthorized call.

Benson wrote that certain university-wide advancement functions will remain at system administration. The administration is in conversation with the CU Foundation Board about the extent of those functions. Johnnie Ray, who has been with CU since last fall, is serving as acting vice president to oversee those functions. He previously led advancement operations at the University of Tennessee, Arizona State University, Emory University and the University of Texas at Austin.