University Of Victoria With Jane Potentier, Associate Vice-President, Alumni And Development & Laura Milligan, Director Of University Development

Dive into the world of university development and philanthropic partnerships at the University of Victoria. In this Opportunity Spotlight episode, Christoph Clodius speaks with Jane Potentier, Associate Vice President, Alumni and Development, and Laura Milligan, Director of University Development. They discuss the new Associate Director, Philanthropic Partnerships position and UVic’s strategic goals. Jane and Laura highlight UVic’s unique strengths, commitment to indigenous communities, and leadership in climate research and integrated learning. Discover the collaborative culture and compelling opportunities that make UVic a standout institution and a place where individuals can make a real impact, especially in supporting the university’s ambitious fundraising campaign and health and wellness initiatives.

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Listen to the podcast here

 

University Of Victoria With Jane Potentier, Associate Vice-President, Alumni And Development & Laura Milligan, Director Of University Development

Welcome to another Opportunity Spotlight Podcast. I’m Christoph Clodius, Vice-President here at the Discovery Group. I have the great pleasure of speaking to two of my favorite people from the University of Victoria. I’m speaking of Jane Potentier from the University of Victoria. She’s the Associate Vice-President, Alumni and Development, as well as Laura Milligan, who is the Director of University Development.

We’re going to be speaking about the Associate Director Philanthropic Partnerships role. We’re going to be speaking about the university, what’s new on the horizon, what’s coming up on the horizon, and why this is such a great and compelling opportunity that people should be throwing their head into the ring for. Welcome, Jane and Laura.

Thank you, Christoph.

Maybe I’ll ask each of you just to start with a few words of introduction, a little bit about who you are. I’ve given your titles, maybe tell me a bit more about your role at the university, and how long you’ve worked there, and we can take it from there.

Thank you, Christoph. Jane Potentier here, AVP Alumni and Development, as you said. I joined UVic in 2020. I can’t believe it’s already five years. I’m coming up on my five-year anniversary. I joined after almost twenty years at the University of Alberta, a wonderful place to be. Thanks for the opportunity.

Early congratulations on five years.

Thank you.

Laura?

Thanks, Christoph. I joined the university six months prior to Jane, and my role in University Development is overseeing all of our central fundraising units. That’s our Annual Leadership Giving Team, our Plan Giving Team, Principal Gifts, as well as our Donor Relations Team.

Inside UVic: Climate, Community & Co-op Leadership

This role will be reporting directly to you, Laura. We’ll talk more about the role in a little bit, but just to give a little bit of context, that’s really helpful. Sticking with context, this might be too big a question, but UVic has such a great reputation nationally, very highly ranked as one of the best universities in the country, more often than not. Tell me a bit more about UVic for someone that isn’t familiar with it or just knows those high-level headlines. Jane, you want to start us off, given your experience at UVic? Tell us a bit more about the university.

Sure, I’m happy to. We just turned 60 years old in 2023. I would definitely say that my experiences of coming to UVic or to the island prior to moving here were always to see this beautiful campus in a beautiful location. I would say that the University of Victoria is definitely defined by the place where we are situated and that really is, I think, what defines us in terms of the kinds of programs that we offer and what we’re known for. Being 60 years old, we’re quite a young university, relatively, so that’s important for people to know. Some of our programs are actually only 30 years old.

We are known for our climate work in our oceans. Again, thinking about where we are placed, we’ve got a 30-year track record in climate. We are really committed to honoring our local indigenous communities, and that is a really important part of our work. We are also, from a student perspective, known for our work-integrated learning and co-op. I think we’re the second largest co-op program in Canada, which people often don’t realize. For our size, I think that’s pretty amazing, and therefore, really focused on that student experience and readying our students for the world, essentially. Lots of really great things are happening at UVic.

The last thing I would mention, and this is all reflected in our new strategic plan, which we launched in 2023. We’re really looking ahead now to thinking about addressing particularly health and wellness issues. Really a huge topic in our society in general, in BC in particular, and how we play a role in addressing and reimagining the healthcare system essentially in BC.

 

That’s a great summary. I really like how you’ve captured that sense of place at UVic, where you’ve really carved out your niche and your specializations in particular areas that really give you a great strength to build on in so many different areas. You’ve got such fantastic programs across the board fundamentally.

Laura, tell me a bit more detail about how you and your team’s work advances this mission. Jane has talked about a few different areas that have really been priorities. How is the Development Team supporting UVic in this important work?

Fueling UVic’s Mission: How Development Drives Impact

I think it’s in how we’re building a network of passionate supporters, engaged alumni who are really dedicated to making a social impact in their communities. We work very closely with our academic partners to best align our research and program needs and priorities, and try to find those like-minded individuals and organizations. I think in facilitating those relationships and opportunities, we’re really acting as conveners. We’re bringing together people and ideas, trying to find that right fit and looking for opportunities that we can seed and build with donor investment. I think we play a really unique role in our campus community and a role that many of our campus partners are still learning about, which is quite interesting work as well.

We act as conveners, bringing people and ideas together to find the right fit and build opportunities with donor investments. Share on X

Fair enough. Being a 60-year-old institution as a young university and still educating people on the value of philanthropy. We’ll talk more about the culture of philanthropy. It’s an interesting piece being in a sense of place that Jane talked about, as well as a global institution with alumni around the world, fundamentally, that you’re working with and the influence you have. That’s remarkable.

You’ve both been there just under and over five years, for that matter. What are you most proud of? Jane, let’s start with you. In your time at UVic, are there particular things you’ve really been able to move the needle on that you think you’re really proud of?

UVic’s Collaborative Culture: Teamwork At Its Finest

I think there are a lot of things. When I thought about the question, I think Laura just mentioned part of it, which is how the campus has shifted in time in terms of its engagement or the people across campus and how they’ve got engaged in the work of alumni engagement and development. We really see excitement around that now and people wanting to come and partner and learn more about how they can be involved, which translates into then being able to be way more engaged in our community, and to Laura’s earlier points, think about how our community can be engaged in philanthropically advancing the university and the alumni engagement pieces as well.I think we’ve seen a real shift. It’s not as much of an unknown, and it’s a place where people are actually excited to get involved in the work that we’re doing.

Think about how our community can be engaged in philanthropically advancing the university, while also fostering alumni engagement. Share on X

The second thing I would just comment on is the team orientation. We’ve really realigned our team. I think that, speaking to how we got to this role in particular, there’s been a lot of work to make sure that we are resourced with the right kinds of skill sets but also the right kind of structure to support the work that we’re doing, which is really the inside baseball stuff. That is so important in ensuring that we’re highly focused, we’re prioritizing the right things. The team has really come together around that, and I’m really proud of the leadership team that we’ve put in place, too.

Laura, as a member of that leadership team, this might be a perfect segue, actually. I was going to ask you about collaboration and work culture and how the team gets together, but I want to give you the chance to answer that question as well, if there are particular things you’re proud of having achieved.

I think it’s every time we bring a new funder to the university or we deepen a relationship with an existing funder to the university that shines a light on the amazing research and programs that we have. I’m inspired daily by the academics and students that we engage with, and it’s why I keep coming back to higher ed and working in advancement. To Jane’s point earlier, we’ve really nurtured that curiosity and dedication within our Direct Team in Alumni and Development, so we’re working in new and more collaborative ways than certainly when I arrived. Folks who have been here much longer than Jane or I are regularly giving us that feedback. It’s really invigorating.

 

Tell me a bit more about that cultural piece. What’s it like to work at UVic? What’s the feeling on the ground as it were on a day-to-day basis or work-from-home basis occasionally, as we’re still doing a lot of the time, too?

I would say that it’s a very fluid and flexible place, which I so appreciate. We do have a number of employees who are working hybrid, who are here on campus when they need to be, who are also working remote. My team, in particular, we are in the outlying lands of the university, as we say, so just outside the ring road of campus. That adds a different lens to how we’re interacting daily with campus life.

Maybe tell me a bit more about your team, Laura. The Associate Director is going to be reporting to you and interacting with you and other members of your team. How does collaboration happen at that level with your plan giving lead, with your stewardship leads, for instance, at that virtual, symbolic table?

Collaboration is something that we’ve really nurtured, and it happens in both organic ways and intentional ways. We work with a lot of creative minds and very ambitious people on the team. They’re continuously trying to improve their programs, strategies, and approaches. They’re leaning in. They’re bringing others along, and it’s happening in hallways. It’s happening in formal working groups. I think it’s really a mindset of working smartly and leaning into each other’s strengths. I’ve honestly never worked in an environment that is this collaborative, where people are seeking the feedback of their peers, of their leadership team consistently. I think it’s really special, and it’s honestly a state of mind at this point for our team.

 

I’ve seen so many organizations pay lip service to collaboration or consultation, but UVic really does live and breathe it in my observation. That’s certainly what I hear talking to people as well. Jane, anything you want to add to that?

I would totally agree. I think that we’re constantly asking ourselves how to do better at it because I think it’s an intentional process, and we’ve got great feedback. Beyond the walls of A&D, Alumni and Development, to within External Relations, we are situated in a division of External Relations, great colleagues in Communications and Marketing and University Relations to lean into. I’m just nodding because I just came out of a team meeting where we were discussing this exact question, “How do we continue to build on the great collaborative work that we’re doing?” Just lots of reinforcement of that.

New Role Alert: Associate Director, Philanthropic Partnerships

Let’s pivot to the Associate Director then. UVic has created, I use that term, created, very loosely because this work’s being done in different ways. I don’t want to speak for you, but it’s really a culmination of some varying efforts here in some ways. Jane, let’s start with you. Tell me about the Associate Director Philanthropic Partnerships. Why have you created this role? Why now?

You’re right, but it’s not entirely, completely new in the sense that the work has been undertaken, certainly thinking about how do we really put the time and effort in to the relationship building, and that alignment that Laura was mentioning earlier around really being curious about what’s going on on the campus, and those most significant donors and potential donors to the university who are really thinking strategically about how they can engage, what issues are they wanting to solve from a philanthropic perspective, and how we can partner with that.

When I arrived in 2020, we had not had as much focus on that as we probably could have had. Thinking about putting the resources in terms of time and effort, we created a role that has helped build, establish, and re-imagine that program over the last few years. We are now really upping the ante in terms of moving into a potentially significant fundraising campaign in support of that strategic plan that I mentioned earlier. It’s an opportunity to really focus on the relationship-building.

I created this role separating it out from a position that we already had that wakes up every day thinking specifically about the relationships with individuals and with our Corporate and Foundation Relation partners, too, and situating this position in Laura’s team to be able to be working alongside and very closely with Plan Giving and the team in stewardship, etc. in a way just for additional fostering of that collaboration and working with the faculties. The big thing here is focus. It’s really honing in on deeply understanding those relationships and building them, and then working with myself and with the leadership of the university and with Laura as a fantastic strategy partner to be able to move things forward.

The big thing here is focusing on honing in on understanding key relationships and building them. Share on X

There’s such an appetite and a need for this work, focusing on the university’s highest potential donors fundamentally. Laura, tell me a bit more about what you envision the Associate Director doing. When you think about their expectations, the partners they’re going to collaborate with, for instance, tell me a bit more about what that work actually looks like from your view.

Strategic Vision: Expectations for UVic’s New Philanthropy Lead

I think to Jane’s voice about that focus, stripping away the distractions that we all have, working in an institution of this size, I’m really excited about the opportunity this position has to keep us all laser-focused on the engagement of our highest-level prospects and donors.

It’s critical work that many of us across the division are involved with. Jane is a close thought partner on this. I am in terms of the work that I’ve been doing over the last few years around Corporate and Foundation Relations, our Director of Faculty Development and her team with the major gift officers, and our VP of External Relations. This role will have a group of strategy partners. They will be the person that has all of us waking up every day with that focus. It’s critical to the success of our campaign as well in terms of deepening that pool, securing lead gifts early on. It really shines a light and a high priority on this position. I’m just excited that we’ll have someone that will have the space to be able to do that work.

Sounds like there are lots to keep up with. They’re going to demand a lot of you, for that matter, by the sound of things. That’s exciting. That really comes through. What does success look like for this person, Laura? What do you think some early success measures, some ways that you think this person might be evaluated? It sounds too crass a term, but when you think about this person’s success measures, what might you be looking for six months or a year in, for instance?

I know we’ve done a lot of deep work in our campaign-planning journey. We’re over the milestone of having done our feasibility study. We know who our top 25 donors and prospects are, so they have a really strong foundation to jump off of and run. I think we put a lot of emphasis into the onboarding of new employees into Alumni and Development, but also, there’s a lot of work that’s already been done. What I really hope to see is the timelines and ambitions we’ve set for some of those key relationships that they are able to work with our campus partners and really move on that even in their first year.

Jane, anything else you want to add in regards to what this person or you might seek for them to achieve, given that you’ll be working with them fairly closely as well?

Building on what Laura said, I think getting to know those donors and prospective donors really well, really quickly, but then moving to execution, to really taking the initiative and taking what’s been built so far and moving it to the next step. There’s a lot of potential there that needs to be moved on really quickly, and I’m hoping that the person coming in can do that.

That’s exciting. It’s such a compelling piece. It’s a compelling role. There’s so much excitement that really comes through from the two of you and great potential here. If you were to pitch a candidate, theoretically speaking, of course, why would someone want to leave their role and come join you? Jane, you want to keep going?

Why UVic? Culture, Campaign & Community Impact

I think it’s a lot of what you’ve heard from both of us. The culture is positive. There’s a sense of excitement on this campus. We are definitely on the up. It’s a beautiful place to be. I think Laura mentioned it, too. One of the words that I would use about our team is incredibly supportive. Everyone will be rooting for their success, so from a professional point of view, you’ve got a really great spot to land as far as thought partners, strategy partners, and a supportive team. Honestly, who can say no to the beautiful Vancouver Island, Victoria? If you’re not here already, then come figure that out.

Laura, anything to add there?

For me, having the experience of going through a comprehensive campaign from start to finish, UVic is a bit of a unicorn in that space in that we haven’t done one before. I honestly see that as being a really unique opportunity to come in in such a critical role in the success of a campaign and be a part of that. I find that really compelling, and also, I’m really intrigued and committed to the work that we’re doing in terms of responding to the calls to action for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the level of Indigenous-led scholarship that we have at the university, the commitment that we’ve made in our strategic plan and in our Indigenous plan. Just for me personally, for anyone that’s committed to work in equity, diversity, and inclusion, UVic is playing a really important role in that space. To be a part of that in terms of fundraising for philanthropic opportunities that support that, I think that alone is really attractive and special.

 

That’s really nicely put. I know Jane mentioned that at the very top in terms of some of the UVic specializations and areas of support, so really appreciate you bringing that up. Again, to Jane’s point as well, this role is going to be positioned for success through the onboarding but also some of those collaborators that we talked about. As you said, everyone’s rooting for their success and wants to support them fundamentally. It’s such a great institution that people want to see succeed.

On that note, thank you both once again. Jane and Laura, appreciate your time, appreciate your excitement for the role. I’m excited to bring some wonderful candidates forward to you. Anybody that wants to reach out directly can reach out to me at [email protected]. Check out UVic’s wonderful website, check out the posting. Looking forward to chatting with you both again soon. Appreciate your time.

Thank you, Christoph.

Thank you.

Thanks.

 

Important Links

• University of Victoria
• Jane Potentier on LinkedIn
• Laura Milligan on LinkedIn
• Christoph Clodius’ Email