Guilford’s vice president of advancement, Charlie Patterson, is retiring this year after a 37-year-long career in fundraising. Anne Hurd, current director of development, will serve as interim VP while the search for a permanent appointee continues. Patterson, now 65 years old, recalls how he came to be a part of the Guilford community.

In 1997, he was 59, comfortable in his position as assistant athletic director at Wake Forest University. Then he got a call from some Guilford College trustees: the fundraising campaign was in trouble. They needed Patterson to help pull them out.

Two years ago, that mission – the $50 million Our Time in History campaign – was completed under Patterson’s leadership. It was this fundraising effort that resulted in the Frank Family Science Center, new computers, scholarship, and several academic programs.

Former President Don McNemar appointed Patterson to his VP position in Aug. 1998.

“I saw this as one last opportunity to have a little impact before I retire,” Patterson said. “It’s been thoroughly satisfying.”

One of those reasons is the Lifetime Achievement Award he was awarded by the N.C. chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals on Nov. 22.

Dec. 31 will be Patterson’s last day.

“My retirement comes as no surprise to anyone. I knew when I came that I would probably retire in six years,” he said. “When Kent (Chabotar) arrived, he knew I would be leaving.”

President Chabotar is expected to name the next vice president of advancement in June 2005. This will give time for the committee composed of faculty and staff members, students, alum, and friends of the college, assisted by an executive recruitment firm, to perform a nationwide search.

During the six-month interim period, Hurd is happy to take over the vice presidential position. She has been employed at the college since June 2003, working closely with Patterson.

“It’s all about helping each other,” she said. “Everybody in this department is a team. We all help to build a community of support for the college.”

“It’s our job to find out what people respond to, what they care about,” Hurd said about how they build that community.

She exposed the secret of what goes on in Institutional Advancement. The “Five I’s” give a simplified version of this.

Identify: Find out who is in a position to give to the college-alum, community members, parents, or anyone with a stake in the school.

Inform: Let those people know what kinds of needs the college has, usually through the college magazine or website.

Interest: Personal appeal to certain areas is important; some people want to give to a specific department of the school, so they must know that they have a choice as to where their gift will be going.

Involve: Invite possible donors to lectures and dinners, or send “Thank you” cards to people who have already donated to keep their connection with the school strong.

Invest: Ask those people to give back to the school so that future students can enjoy a satisfying college experience.

“Everything that is here is here because someone made it possible for you to come and benefit,” said Patterson. “The further you get away from college, the more meaningful it becomes.”

Before joining the Guilford faculty, Hurd was director of advancement at Canterbury School, an Episcopal day school in Greensboro. There, she completed a $9 million campaign from 2000-2003.

Hurd decided to join Guilford’s advancement staff for a number of reasons.

“Charlie Patterson is one of the reasons I came here. He was a contemporary of my father’s,” Hurd said. “I knew that he was going to retire, and this was my chance to work with someone who cares so much about the college and about the people here.”

She shows her passion about fundraising when she speaks about upcoming projects that she will be taking on in the near future.

“This is an exciting time,” Hurd said of President Chabotar’s recently released Strategic Long Range Plan, in which she will be very involved. “I can’t wait, because this is our time to take the ball and run with it. It’s what I love to do.”

“Anne Hurd is very capable,” Patterson said. “She will be very good for this interim.”

Hurd grew up in a family of educators; her father was vice president of Greensboro College. She often joined him on visits to colleagues and alums when she was young.

“I’ve been calling on alumni all my life,” she said.

Hanging in her office is a framed cross-stitching that Hurd gave to her father when he took the position of vice president years ago. It reads “The Buck Only Pauses Here.”

“Our business is making connections,” Hurd said. “Everything that we do comes back to how it impacts students.”

President Chabotar expressed his satisfaction with Hurd’s interim position. In the official release of information, he said, “She will be no caretaker Vice President. The critical fundraising operations of the college, especially in annual giving and capital gifts, will not only be maintained during her time in office, but kept on the same trajectory of continuous improvement that Charlie handed down.”