Brian Lee to step down as VP for alumni affairs and development

Photo by Rob Greer

July 17, 2024

6 min read

‘Champion of Harvard and our mission’ will depart at end of calendar year

Brian K. Lee, who has served as vice president for alumni affairs and development since 2018, will retire at the end of the calendar year, Harvard announced on Wednesday.

“For the past 25 years, I have been privileged to lead alumni affairs and fund-raising efforts of three outstanding institutions, and serving Harvard has been the high point of a deeply gratifying and rewarding career,” Lee said in a message to alumni affairs and development staff. “[N]ow is the time for me to make room for other goals and to be more present and available to my family and friends, whose patience, understanding, and unwavering support have made my life’s work possible.”

Interim President Alan Garber praised Lee’s ability to put connection — to people and to Harvard’s mission — at the heart of his work. “Brian is a champion of Harvard and our mission,” Garber said in a message to University colleagues. “Since 2018, our community has benefited tremendously from his ability to connect individuals and their interests to our institution and our aspirations, even in the face of unprecedented challenges. There are, of course, the outstanding acts of generosity enabled by Brian’s leadership, but what I most admire is his commitment to articulating our values and how they guide our efforts to seek support of our teaching and research.”

Lee brought significant fundraising and alumni relations experience to his role, having previously led advancement functions for Tufts and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). In announcing Lee’s appointment at Harvard, then-President Larry Bacow noted his “extraordinary ability to bring together people in support of higher education,” and his “especially strong record of supporting and advancing institutional goals with a combination of creativity, insight, and thoughtfulness.”

“Brian is a champion of Harvard and our mission. Since 2018, our community has benefited tremendously from his ability to connect individuals and their interests to our institution and our aspirations, even in the face of unprecedented challenges.”Interim President Alan M. Garber

During Lee’s tenure, Harvard saw significant increases in annual fundraising and increased engagement among alumni. The University also established major initiatives — including efforts focused on financial aid, life sciences, climate, as well as artificial and natural intelligence — fueled by philanthropy from Harvard alumni and friends.

Lee took office as vice president at the conclusion of a five-year capital campaign that raised $9.62 billion, including $1.3 billion to support and expand financial aid. With increased engagement from supporters and alumni, he built a fundraising program that would yield four of Harvard’s top six fundraising years of all time.

Under Lee’s management, Harvard’s alumni affairs and development office also added focus to improving collaboration to enable greater impact for cross-School and University-wide initiatives. Working with then-Provost Garber to strengthen and communicate the University’s gift policies, he also streamlined processes in Harvard’s development organization and convened and chaired the Council of Fundraising Deans to boost support for University-wide priorities.

“Through our work together on the Gift Policy Committee, I gained a greater appreciation for the judicious perspective Brian brings to all he does, not focused on any one path but on the horizon — and what may lie just beyond it,” said Garber. “These instincts are complemented by a seemingly unlimited capacity to listen closely and generously, with his many interactions rooted in a genuine interest in people and what matters to them.”

In 2022, Lee played a pivotal role in advancing philanthropic gifts to support the creation of the Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural & Artificial Intelligence and the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability. Each of these University-wide institutes draws expertise from across Harvard’s diverse fields to create space for innovation and practical solutions. Additionally, Lee helped to develop a gift made in 2019 to enable the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Center for Creativity & Performance, a research and performance center now under construction that will become the new home for the American Repertory Theater in Allston.

Engagement from alumni and participation in Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) events and activities also increased and evolved under Lee’s leadership. In the past year, the HAA saw record numbers of alumni participating in programs ranging from Harvard Alumni Day and Harvard and Radcliffe College reunions to events around the globe, such as Global Networking Night and conversations with Garber in London, Washington, and Miami. Alumni also joined virtual events on topics ranging from happiness to democracy to climate change to civil discourse on campus.

“Brian has been wonderful to work with,” said Moitri Chowdhury Savard ’93, current president of the Harvard Alumni Association. “He is thoughtful and dedicated to higher education and to working with the wide Harvard alumni community wherever we are around the world. I look forward to our collaboration over the next six months. I wish him and his family the best in their future adventures.”

Before Harvard, Lee was vice president for development and institute relations at Caltech, where he played a key role in launching the Breakthrough Campaign, the largest in the institution’s history, which raised more than $3 billion. Prior to his time at Caltech, Lee spent 26 years at Tufts University, ultimately serving as senior vice president for university advancement, where he developed a comprehensive alumni relations and engagement program and worked closely with the Tufts alumni association.

Lee has also served as the chairman of the board for the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), a global nonprofit dedicated to educational advancement through work in alumni relations, communications, development, marketing, and advancement services. He was selected by peers to serve on the international CASE Europe board.

“With attention and care, Brian has shaped the careers of countless colleagues, expanding his circle of influence to institutions across the country and around the world,” said Garber. “I have enjoyed getting to know and collaborating with someone who is so perfectly suited for his chosen profession, doing his very important part to advance the University’s mission.” As Lee departs at the end of the calendar year, Garber shared that the search for the next vice president of alumni affairs and development will begin soon, and that advice and nominations regarding the search may be sent, in confidence, to vpaadsearch@harvard.edu.