Administrator takes job at CHOP

From SEPTA subways cars to lightposts around City Hall, the university’s recent marketing ad campaign, “125 Facts,” has put Temple in the spotlight.

The “T” is scattered throughout the city as a result of the work by Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement Stuart Sullivan, who manages the campaign.

Sullivan, who has served in that position since 2001, announced his resignation from his position last week. He will accept a new post as chief development officer at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to work with an incredibly dynamic and world-class institution,” Sullivan said. “At this point in my career, I determined this was a logical step for me to take.”

Sullivan’s resignation will be effective May 8, three days before he begins his new job on May 11. A formal search will begin immediately for his successor.

Sullivan said many of his new responsibilities at CHOP will be similar to those he held at Temple, including managing a large staff, working with volunteers and raising money for operations at the hospital like building and endowment programs.

Since he joined Temple more than eight years ago as vice president for development and alumni relations, Sullivan said he never imagined seeing the financial and branding successes the school is experiencing.

In an effort to better market Temple, Sullivan and his staff created the Office of Institutional Advancement in December 2006. The office is designed to enhance the relationship between the School of Medicine and its graduates and supporters.

Primary functions of the office include organizing external outreach for alumni, friends, donors and greater community, raising funds for the university, advertising, marketing, alumni relations and managing the school’s Web sites, print publications and other forms of communication.

“I believe that we have made a significant progress in establishing a new culture of philanthropy surrounding the university,” Sullivan said. “We have worked very diligently to try to increase the reputation of the university over these years, and I think we have been successful on doing that.”

After considering all the other campaigns his staff has been involved with over the years, Sullivan said the 125th anniversary fundraising campaign, “Access to Excellence,” is one of his biggest accomplishments.

“[The campaign] speaks for itself. Temple has never raised anywhere near this much money in any campaign in the past,” he said.

He attributes much of the success of the campaign to President Ann Weaver Hart, who he says is a “tremendous spokesperson and leader” for the school.

Sullivan said he acknowledges there’s still more work to be done even after he leaves his position.

“All of the work we do is really on a continual basis,” he said. “What we do now is taking it to a certain level so people who come behind us will just continue doing things we’re doing now.”

Sergei Blair can be reached at sergei.blair@temple.edu.