Brandon Buzbee Named Interim Vice Chancellor for Advancement

Colleagues,

I am delighted to share that Brandon Buzbee, DU’s associate vice chancellor for global networks, will assume the role of interim vice chancellor for advancement on August 1, 2019, following the departure of Vice Chancellor Armin Afsahi.

For the past four years at DU, Brandon has successfully spearheaded university-wide efforts in annual giving, alumni engagement, career development, and advancement marketing and communications. During his tenure—and through the hard work of many partners in advancement and across the university—DU has seen a nearly 25 percent increase in unique donors and more than 20 percent growth in engagement with alumni, parents, and friends through events and programs, as well as significant expansion in student use of career development services.

Throughout Brandon’s career as an advancement professional, he has led complex organizations and innovative, dynamic programs. At DU, he has proven a collaborative and energetic leader capable of working alongside his team to help envision and organize signature programming, such as DU’s annual alumni weekend, which brings hundreds of alumni to campus each year. During his tenure, he has also elevated DU’s annual day of philanthropy, One Day for DU, and he has been central to the design and planning of the recently announced Burwell Center for Career Achievement.

In his role as interim vice chancellor, Brandon will assume leadership of the advancement team, and he will work to sustain DU’s momentum through engagement with our ever-expanding network of alumni and friends. Collaborating closely with leadership and the entire advancement team of strong, skilled, and dedicated professionals working across the campus and the country, Brandon will continue to lead us on a bold path toward our campaign and organizational goals.

A search committee for the next vice chancellor for advancement will be formed this summer, in consultation with the Board of Trustees, the Faculty Senate, the Advancement team, and others. I will share news about the search committee once it is fully formed.

It has been my great pleasure to get to know Brandon this past year and to witness firsthand the energy, imagination, and inspiration he brings to Advancement initiatives. (He has also become something of a DU history buff!)

Please join me in congratulating Brandon and welcoming him to his role as interim vice chancellor for advancement.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Haefner, Chancellor