Evan Bohnen Named Winthrop Vice President for Institutional Advancement

ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA — Evan Bohnen, associate vice president for development at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), was announced today as the new vice president for Winthrop University's Institutional Advancement division.

Winthrop President Dan Mahony said the university found in Bohnen a professional fund raiser who as vice president can leverage the university's advancement opportunities.

"Winthrop faces a pivotal period as we have embarked on a new strategic plan which relies on the university's fundraising efforts to support its initiatives," said Mahony. "As we searched for Winthrop's next vice president for institutional advancement we knew we needed someone with a complete set of fundraising and management skills. Evan Bohnen is a proven leader who will continue to cultivate and grow key relationships with donors and friends of Winthrop, while substantially enhancing our advancement operation."

Bohnen for four years has served as associate vice president for development at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he was responsible for direct supervision of all fund-raising operations such as major gifts, annual giving, planned giving, donor relations and donor research. He is the campaign manager working with other IUP administrators on the university's largest comprehensive campaign to date, including construction plans for a new state-of-the-art $92 million sciences and engineering facility.

"Winthrop University's commitment to student success and a student-centered educational experience as expressed in the current strategic plan is worthy of widespread and significant philanthropic support," Bohnen said. "I am excited to work with President Dan Mahony and the university community who are deeply committed to the long-term success of our students. I look forward to engaging the university's alumni, parents, advocates, and friends as we work together to further the ambitions and aspirations held by our students."

Prior to his role at IUP, Bohnen was employed at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio, where he served as assistant vice president for advancement for five years. Among his accomplishments at Marietta were the successful execution of a three year, $50 million comprehensive fund-raising campaign and the improvement of fiscal accountability and reliability of reporting to donors and the college's Board of Trustees.

He previously served as director for college advancement at Radford University in Virginia, as director of development for Virginia Tech's College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, and as director of development for the College of Arts and Humanities at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Bohnen holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in communication, both from the University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point.

The university conducted a national search for the vice president, choosing Bohnen from a broad applicant pool that the search committee narrowed to three finalists. Each finalist interviewed on campus with faculty, staff, students, and administrators from across the university and met with Rock Hill Community leaders.

Bohnen will serve as the senior administrator for the university's fundraising and alumni relations for the university and as a member of Winthrop's Senior Leadership Group. The new vice president will provide guidance for executing the Winthrop Plan: A Strategy to Become a National Model for a Student-Centered University Experience, specifically in regards to fundraising.

Winthrop officials said Bohnen will join the Winthrop community on July 31. Bohnen and his wife, Tonia, have 11-year old twin boys, Grant and Alex. The Bohnen family will move to the Rock Hill community in July.

For more information, contact Judy Longshaw, news and media services manager, at 803/323-2404 or longshawj@winthrop.edu.