By KRWG News
Las Cruces – Dennis Prescott, vice president and special adviser to the president for advancement at Baylor University, has been selected as New Mexico State University's vice president for university advancement and president of the NMSU Foundation.
"Dr. Prescott brings a wealth of experience that will assist NMSU in advancing our fundraising efforts," said NMSU President Barbara Couture. "As state appropriations make up less and less of our total operating budget, private support is increasingly important for ensuring excellence in all we do. Dennis will be a valuable asset providing vision and leadership as we strive to increase alumni giving and grow our endowment."
"I am thrilled and honored to have been named vice president for advancement and president of the NMSU Foundation. Of my 27 years in university advancement, I have spent 23 of those years at land-grant universities, and I'm a strong believer in the mission of these special institutions," Prescott said. "The unprecedented success of the 'Doing What Counts' campaign has obviously generated much momentum for philanthropic support of the university, and I'm looking forward to working with President Couture, the NMSU Foundation Board of Directors, and the entire NMSU family to continue this momentum and to advance the mission of New Mexico State University in the future."
"Dennis is highly qualified and experienced. We feel fortunate to have him joining the team," said Mike Johnson, chairman of the NMSU Foundation Board. "We have accomplished a lot with the success of our 'Doing What Counts' campaign, but we have more we want to do and are confident that Dennis will be a good leader for that process."
Prescott will start his position at NMSU Jan. 10, 2011, at a salary of $230,000, a portion of which will be funded by the NMSU Foundation.
His current position is a cabinet-level officer of the university and provides consultation to the university president on various aspects of development initiatives. He came to Baylor University in 2007 as vice president for university development. In this role, he led a staff of about 100 in the fundraising and alumni relations areas of Baylor. Prior to his time at Baylor, Prescott served for eight years as vice president for external affairs at Mississippi State University and as chief executive officer of the MSU Foundation. Prescott has more than 25 years' experience in higher education, including stints at the University of Florida and Texas A&M University.