Concordia’s development and alumni office looks to the future with a new, streamlined name: University Advancement

Concordia’s development and alumni office is rebranding.

The unit formerly known as “Advancement and Alumni Relations” now sports a trimmer title: University Advancement.

“Our goal is always to work at the forefront of our field,” says Paul Chesser, vice-president of Advancement.

“Advancement is now the generally accepted term to describe the work of alumni relations and fundraising, so the title ‘Advancement and Alumni Relations’ was redundant.”

There are more than 220,000 Concordia alumni worldwide. As well as fostering this global network, Advancement oversees the historic $250-million Campaign for Concordia: Next-Gen. Now, which is currently more than halfway to its goal.

Since 2017, the team has raised more than $35 million per year, including recent gifts of $30 million from an anonymous donor,$5.6 million from the Peter N. Thomson Family Trust and$15 million from alumna Gina Cody.

“We are the same team with the same mission,” Chesser says. “Our new name reflects our reality, which is that development and alumni relations go hand in hand.”

Concordia’s website, paperwork and other products will be updated going forward.