Institutional Advancement

Drexel’s Office of Institutional Advancement supports the University’s mission and strategic priorities by building and strengthening relationships with alumni, students, faculty, staff, civic leaders, friends, and foundation and corporate partners. Our team develops and implements strategies for sustainable, long-term growth in unrestricted, restricted and endowment funds, as well as broadening the reach of alumni engagement.

We help Drexel’s community of passionate stakeholders:

Invest philanthropically

We engage prospective donors and help them craft investments that best meet their philanthropic interests and financial objectives.

Engage alumni

We work to keep alumni connected and engaged with one another, current students, faculty and the University through professional, educational, charitable, social and cultural programs.

Raise funds

We collaborate with campus partners to determine fundraising priorities that will advance the vision of their schools, college and programs, and help them connect with individuals, foundations, corporations, alumni, faculty and colleagues to make their fundraising goals a reality.

Access the Drexel University Gift Acceptance Policy here [PDF].

Steward gifts

Our office works with departments across Drexel to ensure that each gift is properly stewarded and allocated, meeting donors’ intent and maximizing the gift’s impact. As part of our commitment to donors, we support the Donor Bill of Rights to ensure that donors are treated with respect and that their gifts are managed responsibly.

Senior Vice President

David L. Unruh began his tenure as Senior Vice President of Drexel University’s Office of Institutional Advancement on November 1, 2014. With over two decades of executive experience in higher education, David brings a collaborative, transparent and inclusive approach to engaging alumni and donors in the life of the institution. Prior to his time at Drexel University, David served as senior vice president with Grenzebach Glier and Associates, an international full-service philanthropic management consulting firm serving non-profits. There, he served as co-lead of GG+A’s education practice area and led the training practice. David’s professional experiences at institutions of higher learning have included serving as director of major gifts for Carnegie Mellon University, director of regional major gifts for The University of Pennsylvania, associate vice president of alumni relations and development at The University of Chicago, and, most recently, senior vice president for institutional advancement at Temple University.

At Drexel, David has overseen the success of the University’s most ambitious campaign to date, The Future is a Place We Make. With support from alumni, students, families, Drexel employees, organizations and others, the Campaign for Drexel has surpassed both its $750 million fundraising and 40,000 engaged alumni goals ahead of schedule and established critical investments in Drexel’s student success, academic programs, research, and civic engagement priorities.

215.895.1261
dlu23@drexel.edu