UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Alyssa M. Wilcox, senior vice president and chief campaign planning officer at Purdue University, has been named vice president for development and alumni relations at Penn State, effective Jan. 13.
“Alyssa has a clear grasp of Penn State’s academic, research and service missions, with the deep understanding of how we work to benefit those throughout the commonwealth and beyond, and the strategic foresight to advance our efforts,” said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. “Alyssa is a committed leader who brings both her experience and enthusiasm to the team as we guide and elevate the passionate support of our alumni and friends.”
The vice president for development and alumni relations reports directly to the president and is charged with strategically leading the University’s advancement with frontline fundraising, alumni relations, event planning, major gift cultivation, corporate and foundation relations, and more. In this role, Wilcox will manage a budget of more than $67 million and lead nearly 600 full-time professional staff members in the Penn State Alumni Association and the Office of University Development, engaging with the University’s more than 775,000 living alumni and friends to further Penn State’s land-grant mission.
“This is an amazing opportunity to join Penn State, one of the world’s best universities with the largest alumni base in the nation and its strong brand identity,” Wilcox said. “I am thrilled to bring my experience in the philanthropic space to a complex, comprehensive organization like Penn State. The deeply dedicated community of alumni, families and others offers so many opportunities to engage.”
At Purdue, Wilcox managed a diverse portfolio, including the offices of industry partnerships, global partnerships and programs, engagement, external data analytics and units reporting to the chief of staff. She played an instrumental role in attaining the largest philanthropic contribution in Purdue’s history: a $100 million gift from Lilly Endowment. She also served on the multi-organizational, interdisciplinary team that attracted a $4 billion economic development commitment to West Lafayette. She has participated in and helped spearhead six capital campaigns, each increasing in size, beginning with $100 million at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, in the 1990s to more than $2.5 billion at Purdue University.
“My priority is to inspire and lead in a way that helps elevate the work we do together as a team,” Wilcox said. “I am looking forward to collaborating with colleagues for the betterment of Penn State and am particularly eager to do this in partnership with President Bendapudi and the president’s council. Penn State has great depth of expertise and loyalty, and I am energized to be a part of that.”
Wilcox will succeed O. Richard Bundy III, who stepped down in 2023 after leading Penn State through its $2.2 billion fundraising campaign, “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence.” Since then, David Lieb, senior associate vice president for development, has served as interim vice president.
Wilcox’s appointment comes after a national search led by the firm Isaacson, Miller. The search committee included: Kelly Altland, associate vice president of development and alumni relations and chief development officer for Penn State Health; Pat Kraft, vice president for Intercollegiate Athletics/director of athletics; Lee Kump, dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences; Megan Nagel, regional chancellor of Penn State Fayette, Greater Allegheny and New Kensington; Lydell Sargeant, senior director of development and alumni relations in the College of the Liberal Arts; Michael Wade Smith, senior vice president and chief of staff for the Office of the President; and Erica Smithwick, associate director of the Institute of Energy and the Environment, distinguished professor of geography, and director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute.
“I have had the opportunity to speak with Alyssa and believe she will be an incredible asset to Penn State,” said Gene Chaiken, who advised the search and has worked with the University and its advancement leaders for many years. “She has the intelligence, experience and enthusiasm to engage and lead the University’s philanthropic efforts.”
Prior to her most recent roles at Purdue University, Wilcox served as the president’s chief of staff and senior vice president for partnerships; the senior associate vice president for advancement at the affiliated Purdue for Life Foundation; as the senior associate vice president at the Riley Children’s Foundation, the fundraising arm of Riley Hospital for Children; and as the assistant dean of development and alumni relations at Vanderbilt University Law School. Wilcox previously held roles at Purdue’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, the School of Pharmacy under the University of Connecticut Foundation and Dana-Farber.
Additionally, Wilcox completed a two-year commitment as a United States Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, West Africa. She earned a master of business administration degree, with a concentration in marketing, from the University of Connecticut, and a bachelor of arts degree from Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana.