Karen Engelbourg, Leader of BU’s Fundraising Efforts and Alumni Engagement, Is Stepping Down
Nationwide search begins for her successor as senior vice president of development and alumni relations
During 14 years at BU, Karen Engelbourg has played a leading role in the University’s first-ever, and goal-shattering, comprehensive campaign, and has also helped it become one of the nation’s top-20 private universities for philanthropic cash revenue.
Karen Engelbourg, Leader of BU’s Fundraising Efforts and Alumni Engagement, Is Stepping Down
Nationwide search begins for her successor as senior vice president of development and alumni relations
Karen Engelbourg, who led Boston University’s fundraising to new heights, including its ascent as one of the nation’s top-20 private universities for philanthropic cash revenue, will step down as senior vice president of development and alumni relations after January 2.
Engelbourg, who assumed her role in 2019, says that wrapping up her 14 years at the University makes perfect sense now, with the arrival of BU’s new president, Melissa L. Gilliam, on July 1.
“It’s an opportunity for Dr. Gilliam to partner with new Development & Alumni Relations leadership to engage alumni and donors around her strategic priorities,” Engelbourg says. “Thanks to trustees, alumni, and friends of the University, BU has built a culture of philanthropy that will further advance Dr. Gilliam’s strategic vision. It’s a privilege to have been part of this journey.”
It’s an opportunity for Dr. Gilliam to partner with new Development & Alumni Relations leadership to engage alumni and donors around her strategic priorities.
“A valued friend of many in the BU community, Karen is a thoughtful and dedicated member of the University’s senior leadership team,” Gilliam wrote in a letter to the BU community. “On a personal note, I have enjoyed getting to know Karen and appreciate her warmth, her optimistic spirit, and her fundraising acumen.”
The University will launch a national search for a successor that will be coordinated by Kenneth W. Freeman, who most recently served as the University’s interim president.
Among Engelbourg’s achievements, Gilliam said, was leading BU in raising more than $1.2 billion in new commitments during the past four-plus years.
BU also has created “a strong international development strategy and enhanced alumni relations,” the president wrote. BU’s William Fairfield Warren Society, founded to honor those whose lifetime giving to the University is above $1 million, today stands at more than 260 members—”a seven-fold increase since 2010,” wrote Gilliam.
“For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, [Development & Alumni Relations] achieved a record-breaking 30 percent increase in philanthropic cash revenue designated for key initiatives including financial aid and endowed scholarships, professorships, and faculty research,” Gilliam wrote.
Coming to BU was a case of all in the family for Engelbourg. Her late father, Saul Engelbourg, who died last year, was a College of Arts & Sciences professor emeritus of history; her husband and her brother are both Questrom School of Business alumni.
Engelbourg joined BU as director of development for the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. She served six years as the University’s vice president for development, and she had a key hand in its first-ever, and goal-shattering, comprehensive campaign, Choose To Be Great. She helped the campaign surpass its initial $1 billion target and ultimately raised more than $1.85 billion.
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