Executive Brief

Senior Director of Development, School of Engineering
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is the nation’s first and one of the world’s most renowned technological research universities where students, faculty, and alumni have been defining scientific and technological advances for nearly 200 years. RPI boasts a legacy of changemakers confronting the most pressing problems facing humanity and the planet. Established in 1824 by Stephen Van Rensselaer and Amos Eaton, RPI is a private research university located in Troy, New York. Built on a hillside, RPI’s 276-acre campus overlooks the city of Troy, the Hudson River, and the Capital Region. Students at RPI can choose from more than 140 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs across five schools as well as programs and certificates for working professionals. Beyond the classroom, RPI develops technological leaders who are global citizens prepared to change the world with more than 200 student-led clubs, 50+ club sports, NCAA athletic teams including Division I men’s and women’s hockey and 21 teams that compete in Division III. With more than 110,000 living alumni, some of RPI’s most notable alumni were behind innovations that have improved everyday lives—from the Transcontinental Railroad and the Brooklyn Bridge to baking powder and the digital camera.

RPI – Leadership Spotlight

Martin A. Schmidt, B.S. '81, Ph.D. – President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Martin A. Schmidt, B.S. '81, Ph.D.
President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Martin A. Schmidt became the 19th President of Rensselaer on July 1, 2022. Formerly, the provost of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Schmidt was MIT’s senior academic and budget officer, with overall responsibility for the Institute’s educational programs, as well as for the recruitment, promotion, and tenuring of faculty. As provost, he worked closely with MIT’s deans to establish academic priorities, and with other members of the Institute’s senior team to manage financial planning and research support. Read Schmidt's full biography here.

Institutional Advancement at RPI

In the spring of 2023, RPI began rebuilding the Institutional Advancement division as part of the “Invest to Grow” initiative. The division had been significantly reduced in previous years in terms of staff, programs, and infrastructure due to budget cuts related to the crossover and the pandemic. The main goal behind the new investments in advancement was both immediate fundraising benefits and increased alumni engagement in the near and long term. Over the past three years, investments have focused on expanding the IA team (from 32 to 84 members), adopting new technologies, improving and broadening programs, and applying industry best practices. When RPI Forward was publicly launched in July 2025, it emphasized three key areas for the five-year plan, including “enhance alumni engagement and philanthropy.”

As noted in the strategic plan, “We will create a robust alumni community that we can leverage to build a stronger student and lifelong experience. When we think about community, we must connect with and inspire our alumni. They are foundational community members: students, faculty, and staff alike have learned so much from our alumni's accomplishments, experiences, perspectives, and advice. We will work to engender mutual pride and connection as part of our shared future success. To generate the resources necessary for our next decade of growth, we must also strengthen our bonds with foundations, corporations, and other sources of charitable giving.”

The successful growth of alumni engagement and philanthropy will strengthen RPI today and for decades to come.

In 2023, RPI decided to move forward with the second phase of its ongoing campaign. In October 2025, RPI officially launched RPI Forward – A Campaign for Our Third Century, with a goal to raise $1.5 billion. This comprehensive effort aligns with RPI Forward's academic priorities and will provide vital philanthropic support in the upcoming years. Beyond immediate fundraising and alumni engagement results, RPI has involved a diverse group of campus leaders in advancement efforts, which will benefit the institution for decades by increasing campus involvement and alumni participation. RPI has created innovative stewardship programs to thank donors and encourage giving and introduced new technologies to enhance all advancement activities.

Since reinvesting in advancement, RPI has seen significant positive results across nearly all key metrics, which are highlighted below for the FY23 to FY26 timeframe:

Fundraising commitments have increased by 88% (FY23 = $50.7M to FY26 = $95.1M)
Fundraising cash has increased by 89% (FY23 = $54.0M to FY26 = $101.9M)
Alumni engagement has increased by 39% (FY23 = 17,348 to FY26 = 24,106)

The mission of Institute Advancement at RPI is to engage and inspire our community through partnerships and philanthropy to enhance RPI’s impact on society. The culture of Institute Advancement is guided by our shared values of trust, respect, humor, high-achieving and appreciation. Our vision is to be recognized as a global leader in engagement and philanthropy, positioning RPI as a world-class institution that empowers brilliant minds to address society’s most pressing challenges.

Advancement Leadership Spotlights

Matthew J. Ter Molen – Vice President, Institute Advancement

Matthew J. Ter Molen
Vice President, Institute Advancement

The vice president for institute advancement is responsible for oversight of the division of advancement, including strategy, services, and infrastructure; alumni relations, engagement and communications; and development, focusing on individual, corporate, foundation, and international advancement initiatives through philanthropic support of the Institute.

Matthew J. Ter Molen has more than 30 years of expertise in development and fundraising. Most recently, he was the Chief Advancement Officer and Senior Vice President at Syracuse University, where he served for more than eight years. In this role, he oversaw all alumni relations and development activities, including the planning, launch, and execution of the $1.5 billion University-wide campaign "Forever Orange," which raised more in private philanthropy than at any other time in Syracuse University history. Prior to Syracuse, Ter Molen held a range of positions at Northwestern University, the most recent being the Associate Vice President and Campaign Manager. Ter Molen's career began at the University of Chicago in their annual giving office.

Ter Molen holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from Miami University in Ohio, and served in the Peace Corps in Honduras for two years prior to the start of his career in fundraising.

Joel B. Kincart – Sr. Associate Vice President for Development & Campaign Director

Joel B. Kincart
Sr. Associate Vice President for Development & Campaign Director
Institute Advancement

Joel Kincart is the Senior Associate Vice President of Institute Advancement at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Joel joined Institute Advancement in June 2020 as the Associate Vice President of Development and Fundraising. He is responsible for all fundraising as well as serving as Campaign Co-Chair.

Prior to RPI, Joel served as the President of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Foundation since March of 2015. During his tenure, the Foundation has set two-, three- and five-year fundraising performance records while also increasing the number of donors, donor retention, and average gift size.

Joel has 25 years of experience in development work that also included roles at Utah Valley University, the American Cancer Society, the University of Utah, Utah State University, George Washington University, and Georgetown University. Joel has a Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Science degree from Iowa State University.

Drew Babitts – Assistant Vice President, Constituent Development

Drew Babitts
Assistant Vice President, Constituent Development

Drew Babitts is Assistant Vice President, Constituent Development at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), where he provides leadership for all school- and unit-based fundraising programs across the Institute. In this role, he partners with academic and administrative leaders to advance philanthropic support, strengthen fundraising performance, and align development strategy with institutional priorities and campaign objectives.

Drew brings more than 20 years of experience in higher education advancement, with expertise spanning major gifts, planned giving, campaign strategy, portfolio management, and development leadership. Prior to his current appointment, he served as Director of Gift Planning and Senior Advancement Officer at RPI, where he helped secure numerous seven-figure commitments, led gift planning, and partnered with university leadership on principal gift opportunities. Before joining RPI, he held a series of advancement leadership roles at Pratt Institute and Wagner College. Throughout his career, he has built high-performing fundraising programs, developed advancement talent, and secured transformational philanthropic support for institutional priorities.

Drew holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Wagner College. When he’s not working, Drew enjoys traveling, reading, and competing in endurance events, including marathons and triathlons.

RPI's School of Engineering

The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's School of Engineering is one of the nation’s most established and respected engineering schools, building on RPI’s 200-year legacy as the oldest technological research university in the United States. The School combines a rigorous foundation in engineering and science with a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, experiential learning, and research that addresses complex global challenges. Across seven academic departments, the School offers undergraduate and graduate programs spanning biomedical, chemical and biological, civil and environmental, electrical and computer systems, industrial and systems, materials, mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering.

Research is central to the School’s mission, with approximately $50 million in annual research expenditures and significant activity in areas including semiconductors and microelectronics, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, biotechnology and human health, energy and sustainability, advanced materials, robotics, and automation. Faculty and students work across traditional disciplinary boundaries and benefit from RPI’s broader ecosystem of interdisciplinary research centers and advanced facilities. Undergraduate students are also encouraged to participate directly in faculty-led research, reinforcing the School’s longstanding emphasis on applying technical knowledge to real-world challenges. Through this combination of academic rigor, technological innovation, and hands-on discovery, the School of Engineering prepares engineers and researchers to lead at the forefront of emerging technologies and address some of society’s most consequential challenges.

School of Engineering – Leadership Spotlight

Shekhar Garde – Dean, School of Engineering

Shekhar Garde
Dean, School of Engineering

Dr. Shekhar Garde is the Thomas R. Farino Jr. ’67 and Patricia E. Farino Dean, School of Engineering and the Elaine S. and Jack S. Parker Chaired Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Background: Garde received his B. Chem. Eng. (University of Bombay, 1992) and Ph.D. (U. Delaware, 1997) in Chemical Engineering. He was Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1997 to 1999. He joined RPI in 1999 as an Assistant Professor, was promoted to Associate in 2004, and to Full Professor in 2006. He was appointed the Parker Chaired Professor in 2006, and as the Head of Chemical and Biological Engineering Department in 2007 and served in that role for seven years before becoming the Dean of Engineering in 2014.

Leadership: As the Chief academic and executive officer of RPI Engineering, Garde provides leadership, including strategic planning and implementation, academic programs, personnel, budgets, government and industry relations, alumni engagement, communications, and fundraising in collaboration with Institute portfolios. The School of Engineering enrolls approximately 3000 undergraduate students (>30% women) and >700 graduate students (450 PhD Students), representing >50% of the Institute student body. The school includes 7 engineering departments that offer 11 undergraduate and 18 graduate degrees. Engineering faculty of over 150 (tenure and non-tenure track faculty) include members of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Inventors, Fellows of many National and International Societies, and many winners of NSF, ONR, DOE, and other young investigator awards. The school is home to many interdisciplinary centers, including NSF funded Engineering Research Centers, NY State funded centers for technologies, and has overall research expenditures over $50M.

Research and Awards: Dr. Garde employs statistical mechanical theory and molecular modeling and simulation tools to understand the role of water in biological interactions. He has published over 100 papers in leading scientific journals, which have been cited over 11,000 times (h=54). He has given over 150 invited talks at leading universities, industries, and international conferences, including many keynote lectures, and moderated panel discussions on a range of topics focused on emerging areas of technology. He has received several awards including the prestigious CAREER Award by the US National Science Foundation (2001), School of Engineering Research Award (2003), Rensselaer Early Career Award (2004), and the 2011 Robert W. Vaughan Lecturer-ship at California Institute of Technology. He was elected Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers (2014) and of American Association for Advancement of Science (2015).

STEM Outreach: Dr. Garde co-led the Molecularium Project, aimed at exciting the next generation about the world of atoms and molecules. He has pioneered integration of data from large-scale molecular dynamics simulations into Disney-Pixar style animations. He is a co-executive producer of the movie Molecules to the MAX, available in 2D- and 3D-IMAX and DVD versions. Garde was honored with the 2011 Explore~Imagine~Discover Award by the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology, in the Capital District, NY. The Nanospace gaming portal of the Molecularium project received ‘Best of the Web’ award in Education by the Center for Digital Education in 2013.

The Opportunity: Senior Director of Development, School of Engineering

RPI – Senior DoD, School of Engineering – Job Description (PDF Download)

Job Summary

The Senior Director of Development for the School of Engineering serves as the lead Advancement Officer for the school, responsible for designing and implementing a comprehensive advancement program that secures philanthropic resources for the top priority projects of the Institute and the school. The Senior Director of Development will directly report to the Assistant Vice President for Advancement and Constituent Development and with the responsibility to lead and collectively support the Dean of the School of Engineering on matters pertaining to school’s fundraising. The Senior Director works cooperatively with the Central Advancement Office, Alumni Engagement, Annual Giving, Corporate and Foundation Philanthropy, Planned Giving, and Regional Advancement to build successful fundraising programs for the school, and supports the dean on matters of school fundraising. The primary responsibility is cultivating and soliciting 150 to 200 prospects capable of making gifts of $100,000 to $2.49 million.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Raise new commitments from prospects capable of gifts of $100,000 to $2.49 million, as identified in goals and objectives. (25%)
Prepare and submit proposals as specified in goals and objectives. (10%)
Conduct pre-planned face-to-face prospecting and cultivation visits as specified in goals and objectives. (20%)
Conduct major moves as specified in goals and objectives. (10%)
Manage and increase membership in the School of Engineering Dean's Leadership Council and other high-level volunteer structures. (10%)
Identify additional potential donors for the school and coordinate their cultivation and solicitation through the Central Advancement Office, working with central staff across annual giving, corporate and foundation philanthropy, planned giving, and alumni engagement. (5%)
Maintain up-to-date prospect information in Advance through the prospect tracking system. (5%)
Coordinate prospect strategies with deans and school-affiliated development officers. (5%)
Establish school goals, operating plan and prospect pipeline. (5%)
Participate in and present at prospect strategy sessions. (5%)
Other duties as assigned by the Vice President and the Senior Associate Vice President or designee.

Target Goals and Objectives (FY27):

Annual Targets	Goal
Targets are represented below based on position expectations. Managers will work with Major Gift Officers to set an annual goal based on portfolio and anticipated solicitations.
Dollar goal – newly documented commitments:
1^st and 2^nd Year	$1.5 M+
Sustained Giving (3 years +)	$2.5 M+
Annual Goals
Visits – site, virtual and campus visits	100
Qualification Visits
1^st and 2^nd Year	60
Sustained Giving (3 years +)	36
Major Moves – actions related to answering key questions that move a prospect closer to a gift	200
Total # of Solicitations ($2,500 - $99,999)	45% - 55% of portfolio
45% - 55% of assigned prospects should be solicited for a gift within this range
Total # of Solicitations greater than $100,000
20% of assigned prospects should be solicited for a gift within this range	20% of portfolio

Qualifications and Expectations

Qualifications:

BS or BA degree and a minimum of seven years of experience in higher education advancement; master’s degree preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Proven ability to establish and maintain relationships with major gift prospects, manage high-level volunteers, and close major gifts of $50,000 or more.
Ability to set priorities while contributing to the broader team effort in Institute Advancement.
Willingness and ability to travel at least 35% of the time.

Compensation and Employee Benefits

Compensation:

The salary range for this position is $130,000 to $140,000 dependent on relevant experience.

Benefits:

RPI – Benefits Guide – 2026

RPI’s Commitment to Community and Inclusion

Community is a core value at RPI. RPI is committed to the cultivation of a community that is welcoming, inclusive, and above all values learning. It welcomes candidates who bring a variety of perspectives to their work and campus communities.

At RPI, all members of the community are challenged to ask, "Why not change the world?" To accomplish this, it seeks to engender intellectual agility, multicultural sophistication, and global awareness in its students. This requires fostering and nurturing a representative variety of persons, groups, and resources to encourage their engagement. RPI maintains an inclusive and collaborative environment, which is critical to reaching its fullest potential. This is why community must be, and is, at the very core of RPI's mission and values as the nation's first technological university.

RPI strives to develop aspirational goals, strategies, actions, and initiatives that nurture and sustain an inclusive living, learning, and working environment. This is the catalyst to strengthening its efforts to become the most accessible, warm, welcoming, supportive, and inclusive community that it can be.

Applications & Nominations

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has partnered with Boyden. For more information about this opportunity or to submit a cover letter and resume, please email:

Wendy Wilsker

Managing Partner, United States
Global Sector Co-Leader, Not-for-Profit

Wendy Wilsker has dedicated her entire career to the non-profit sector, serving in leadership roles within charitable organizations and working alongside them as an executive recruiter and consultant. She excels at identifying the unique challenges and opportunities non-profits face, and partners with senior leadership to build successful organizational structures, teams and advancement programs.

Jill Coran

Principal, United States

Jill Coran brings a broad foundation in human resources and executive search to our Boston team, enabling her to make valuable contributions to search assignments. She is adept at understanding client needs, researching and identifying high-level potential candidates, and shepherding the search process with integrity and professionalism. In searches for hard-to-fill roles, her tenacity is invaluable.

Holly Wolk

Senior Associate, Leadership Consulting, United States

Holly Wolk has nearly 25 years of leadership experience in human resources, recruitment, and talent management. As an executive and public speaker, she has brought transformational practices and strategies to various organizations, including renowned institutions within higher education. Clients benefit greatly from her expertise in talent acquisition and alignment with organizational goals.

Don't check off all the boxes or meet every single requirement? We have learned that potential candidates hesitate when applying for a job unless they meet every single requirement. Boyden is dedicated to inclusivity and valuing diversity and equity in the workplace. If this opportunity excites you, but your background may not be a perfect match, we still encourage you to apply.