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Ellen Kiernan, a highly respected fundraising and event coordination professional for higher education institutions in the New York metropolitan region, has been appointed senior director of the Office of Alumni Relations and Annual Fund at Purchase College, SUNY.
The appointment was announced recently by Jeannine Starr, vice president for institutional advancement at Purchase.
“We are extremely pleased to have Ms. Kiernan join our administration,” said Starr. “She comes to Purchase with a lot of energy and a strong background in alumni and donor relations, event coordination and fundraising, and she'll be responsible for helping to establish opportunities for alumni to connect in meaningful ways with their alma mater.”
Kiernan was most recently director of alumni relations at Manhattan College (2007-2011), director of alumni relations at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (2006-2007), and alumni outreach coordinator at New York University (2003-2006). She held several mid-management positions prior to 2006 and is a 1988 graduate of New York University, College of Arts and Science.
“She is a proven leader in expanding alumni executive boards, creating new incentives and programs, and bringing the alumni story to life via websites and social media,” said Starr.
The Office of Alumni Relations and Annual Fund is part of the Purchase College Office of Institutional Advancement, whose primary purpose is to enhance relationships with alumni, parents, friends, faculty, staff and community partners and to promote philanthropic participation within the Purchase College community.
Kiernan has served on a variety of institutional committees and, for a professional organization, CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education), was a judge of best practices in Alumni Relations of District II Colleges for spring 2009, 2010 and 2011 conferences. She lives in New Canaan, Connecticut.
Purchase College, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) network of 64 universities and colleges, was founded in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller. His aspirations for Purchase were to combine on one campus conservatory training in the visual and performing arts with programs in the liberal arts and sciences. Today, Purchase College, SUNY is a community of students, faculty, and friends where open-minded engagement with the creative process leads to a lifetime of intellectual growth and professional opportunity. For more information about the College, visit www.purchase.edu.
