Lasher Joins University Advancement Staff

October 8, 2009 7:39 AM

Pete Lasher, whose fund-raising experience spans 17 years at three top-tier universities, has joined USC as associate senior vice president for university advancement.

In this capacity, he reports to Courtney Surls, vice president for development, and will work with the president, provost, deans and directors to ensure that overall campus goals are met and that individual schools are successful in their fund-raising efforts.

“Pete has a long track record of bringing in major gifts in both public and private universities,” Surls said. “He also understands how to build capacity in a university advancement operation in a decentralized environment. He is a very strong addition to our university advancement team.”

At USC, he will serve as Surls’ primary tactical, administrative and management officer, working in partnership with her in planning and strategy, cultivation and solicitation of major gifts and major gifts prospect management. He will be responsible for setting goals and developing measurements of success for central advancement units, and he will serve as a cultivation and solicitation partner for Surls and other members of the senior administration, as well as trustees and volunteers.

Lasher began his fund-raising career in 1992 as assistant director of the annual fund at the University of North Carolina, where his success led to an appointment as regional major gift officer, managing a 28-state region.

In 1999, he joined the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business as assistant dean for external relations, directing development, communications, and corporate and alumni relations efforts as part of the university’s $2 billion campaign.

He also worked for the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, where he increased annual fund totals 18 percent and introduced accountability measures to focus the development effort.

Most recently, he was associate vice president for university development at Georgetown University, leading a university development effort that increased gift commitments by 48 percent and posted record cash results in the first two years of the quiet phase of Georgetown’s $1.5 billion campaign. He also established a regional major gifts program in key markets of Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington.

Lasher earned a B.A. in history from Hamilton College and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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