President Stephen C. Ainlay has announced the appointment of Stephen A. Dare of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as vice president for college relations.
Dare succeeds Thomas C. Gutenberger, who left after nine years to become vice president for advancement at the University of Richmond, his alma mater.
At Union, Dare will be responsible for managing alumni relations, development, communications and community relations, along with foundation, corporate and government relations.
“I am thrilled and delighted to be a part of the Union community,” Dare said. “To be able to work with President Ainlay and the board, continuing to raise support for this historic institution, is an honor.”
Dare will also direct the College's $250 million “You are Union” fund-raising campaign.
“Tom and his staff deserve much credit for the success of the campaign thus far, and their professionalism was a significant reason why Union was such a great opportunity,” he said.
Dare has more than 26 years of fund-raising experience in higher education. He joined MIT in 1998 as director of resource development, overseeing the daily operations of the development organization and serving as campaign manager for MIT's recently completed $2 billion campaign. He also served as interim vice president for resource development. Since March 2007, Dare has been senior managing director of development and campaign strategies and was overseeing a $500 million campaign for students.
Prior to joining MIT, Dare was director of development for endowment and capital programs at Boston College and director of development and alumni relations at Johns Hopkins University’s Whiting School of Engineering and its School of Continuing Studies.
“We had an excellent pool of candidates for this critical position, and we are very fortunate to have someone of Steve’s caliber join our Union family,” said Ainlay. “His leadership, vision and wealth of experience in college relations will be instrumental as we work to implement the key components of our strategic plan.”
A native of Washington Township, N.J., Dare has a bachelor’s in communications and a master’s in educational public relations, both from Rowan University.
He and his wife, Rosemary, have a son, Matthew, who will be a senior in high school this fall. The family resides in Franklin, Mass.
Dare begins his new job Sept. 2.
“Being able to advance philanthropy and the profile of Union on the national scene made this position especially attractive to me,” Dare said. “I look forward to getting around the country in the coming months to listen to alumni, parents and friends, and to share in their stories.”