megan rock --
vice president for institutional advancement
As the leader of the Advancement Division, Megan Rock oversees the offices of alumni affairs, development, and public affairs. She also serves as executive director of the Southern Connecticut State University Foundation.
Rock brings to the university a wealth of development experience, including leadership positions at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Towson University, and the University of Maryland System. "My background includes work at institutions that are in some ways very similar to Southern," says Rock. Towson University, which Rock notes was founded as a normal school in the same period as Southern, is a fitting example.
"When I joined Towson, the institution was very much like Southern today in terms of its approach to philanthropy. All the pieces were there, including a strong alumni base, but the program was ready to move forward. Taking an advancement program to the next level is what I find most exciting."
Rock's record provides numerous illustrations. At Towson, for example, she served as the associate vice president for development for five years-during which time philanthropic support soared 365 percent. Serving simultaneously as executive vice president for the Towson University Foundation, Inc., she also created and directed a $17.5 million capital campaign that achieved its goal one year ahead of schedule.
Rock attended the University of Maryland, College Park, where she immersed herself in college life -- working for Residence Life, serving on student government, and participating in athletics. Today, running continues to provide an outlet for Rock, who also enjoys boating.
Building a career in higher education was not an early aspiration. After graduating, Rock worked for the American Stock Exchange, then went on to hold several positions in marketing and communications with Jiffy Lube International, Inc. When the company was sold, a friend suggested she try her hand at development.
Rock followed her advice and received a fast-track, hands-on education in advancement when she was named assistant to the campaign director/president of the University of Maryland Foundation, Inc.
Advancement proved an ideal fit for Rock, who moved on to increasingly responsible development positions in the education and non-profit sectors. Most recently, she served as senior vice president for development at The Village for Families and Children, a community service agency based in Hartford, Conn. Rock, who joined the Village in September 2003 as the agency's chief fundraiser, created many aspects of the organization's development program from the ground up. Her accomplishments include developing major gifts and annual giving programs, as well as creating and strategically developing the Village's new brand.
For the proceeding three years, Rock was chief development officer for the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C. Under Rock's leadership, unrestricted giving climbed 146 percent in three years and donor participation increased 117 percent. She was also responsible for securing a $5.2 million endowment gift -- the largest in the association's history.
"If you haven't been on campus in the last five to ten years, you haven't really seen all Southern has to offer," says Rock, of the campus-wide construction program and new academic offerings. "Our challenge is to help the New Haven community, as well as the greater Connecticut community and beyond, understand all that Southern has to offer. Our mission and values remain strong and we are, of course, extremely proud of our roots...but we are simultaneously a university that is moving forward."
