L. Keith Todd Named Head of Advancement at The University of Tampa

L. Keith Todd, who recently spearheaded the largest fundraising match in U.S. philanthropic history, has been named The University of Tampa’s vice president for development and university relations. Todd will begin his duties at UT in early June.

As vice president, Todd will be tasked with further building a strong culture of giving at UT that will provide unprecedented support for scholarships, endowment and institutional initiatives. He will focus on increasing philanthropic support of the University, building relationships across Tampa Bay and nationwide, securing private support from donors and increasing public awareness of UT. Furthermore, Todd will serve as an advisor to UT President Ron Vaughn on key advancement and university relations topics, and other institutional issues.

Todd comes to UT with more than 30 years of experience in advancement, serving on advancement teams at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, The Ohio State University, The Medical College of Georgia, the Medical University of South Carolina, University of Illinois-Chicago, and most recently, at Oregon Health & Sciences University (OHSU).

As president and CEO of the OHSU Foundation from 2013 to 2017, Todd most notably architected the $500 million two-year match campaign that was supported by Phil and Penny Knight and is considered the largest match campaign in U.S. philanthropic history. The campaign ultimately raised $1.4 billion.

Prior to that, Todd served as vice chancellor for university development and senior vice president of the University of Illinois Foundation. By focusing on campus priorities, principal gifts and re-establishing volunteer structures, he was able to raise $250 million while leading the Office of Advancement for the College of Medicine.

Todd said the UT position is very appealing, and he looks forward to creating a creative and collaborative culture of philanthropy that will benefit UT, its students and the entire region.

“UT’s focus on building a robust culture of philanthropy to support its vision of securing pathways for its students and alumni to lead successful lives is admirable and exciting,” Todd said. “By working together and increasing philanthropic support, there’s no limit to what can be achieved at The University of Tampa."

Vaughn said Todd was impressive in his passion for higher education as well as his ability to strategize and manage high-level development initiatives, opportunities and challenges.

“Keith’s successes in philanthropy for higher education are outstanding,” Vaughn said. “His sense of urgency, his experience and his ability to manage complex opportunities will serve him well as we build UT’s fundraising efforts that include endowed scholarship needs and future capital projects.”

Todd received a master’s degree in education-institutional advancement from Vanderbilt University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Clemson University.

Todd will succeed Dan Gura, who is currently serving as interim vice president for development and university relations. Gura previously served as vice president since 1990. Gura will transition back into a position of vice president of the capital campaign and assistant to the president.