Radcliffe to Hire Fundraisers

As part of an effort to increase alumnae donations, the Radcliffe College development office is seeking to hire more staff members to handle increased fundraising needs, college officals said yesterday.

The development office, which manages Radcliffe's fundraising efforts, plans to hire an assistant for alumnae affairs, a development researcher and directors for development and planned giving, officials said.

"The reason we have so many hirings now is that we are expanding our operations under Robin M. Jacoby ['68], the new vice president for college relations," said Jane R. Opel '50, executive director of the Radcliffe Alumnae Association.

The expansion of Radcliffe's fundraising program, Opel said, is part of President Linda S. Wilson's "strategic plan to look at the future of Radcliffe."

"We are redefining our goals and making clear to alumnae and students what Radcliffe will do in the '90s," Opel said. Wilson, who took office in 1989, wants to expand Radcliffe's role in women's education by offering more programs, she added.

Aida K. Press '48, director of public information at the college, said the expansion and reorganization is necessary since Radcliffe raises its own funds and receives no money from Harvard.

"It's for expanding our fundraising, alumnae relations and public information efforts," Press said. With the expansion, she added, "people would become more aware of Radcliffe College and its programs."

Another reason for the expansion, Press said, is that Radcliffe offices are now responsible for soliciting donations from both male and female members of classes that graduate after 1989. "So we needed to increase the number of people who are responsible for these classes," she said.

Up until 1976, she said, the Harvard development office sought donations from male graduates while its Radcliffe counterpart raised money from female graduates. But from 1976 to 1989, the two Colleges combined their money-seeking efforts.

Arlene T. Heiss, director of annual and reunion giving at the Radcliffe development office, said she was excited about the expansion and called it a "very important point in Radcliffe history."

"I think for the next year or so we'll have positions on missions that need more support," she said.

The extent of the expansion, however, will not be decided until early next year, when Wilson discloses her plan for the future of Radcliffe, said Opel.