Acadia University President and Vice-Chancellor Ray Ivany announced today that Dr. Rod Morrison has been appointed the University’s new Vice President Advancement. Dr. Morrison’s appointment is effective July 1, 2012.
 
“I want to welcome Rod to the Acadia family and to our community,” said Mr. Ivany. “Building our advancement capacity is a critical priority for Acadia and our search committee was looking for an individual who had a demonstrated track record of success and a progressive approach to both fundraising and alumni relations.
 
“Rod’s background in academia combined with his broad experience inside and outside the university sector, make him an ideal fit for Acadia,” added Mr. Ivany. “He will be a tremendous addition to our community as a whole. I want to thank our search committee for their work on Acadia’s behalf and especially thank our alumni for their continued support.”
 
Dr. Morrison earned his BA and MA from McMaster University and his D.Phil. from Oxford University. After a brief academic career at Memorial University, he joined the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in 1990 before becoming the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Huntington Society of Canada in 1997. In 2002, he joined McMaster as Director of Alumni Advancement before being named Director of International Advancement in 2006, adding the Major Gifts portfolio in 2011. While at McMaster, he led individual and annual fund campaigns that achieved significant growth, securing individuals gifts of up to $3 million, and made breakthroughs in emerging international markets, particularly the Asia-Pacific region. Under Dr. Morrison’s leadership, McMaster’s alumni team earned awards from the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education for alumni programming and volunteer recognition.
 
"I’m honoured to be joining the team at Acadia as Vice President, Advancement,” said Dr. Morrison,  “I’m very much looking forward to working closely with Ray Ivany, and with alumni, supporters, faculty, students, and staff in the years ahead. “
 
He added, “Acadia is one of the real gems among our Canadian universities, with a long history, a proud tradition, an outstanding reputation, dynamic leadership, and a unique sense of community. I think we’ve got an extraordinary opportunity to build for the future, and I am very excited at the prospect of helping to lead that effort."