Dean Gene, Can You See the Standing Ovation?

The opportunity to bring the philanthropic, nonprofit and fundraising fields together again has a much-desired new leader—one who was with us before.  It is with great enthusiasm that I offer heartfelt congratulations to IU President Michael McRobbie (a fellow Australian) and my good friend Chancellor Charles Bantz who selected Gene Tempel to provide essential leadership, as the founding dean, to what will be the great new School of Philanthropy at Indiana University.Over the past few years as the nonprofit world has struggled to align itself with its economic status, diminished governmental support, creation of many sadly underfunded and under-supported nonprofit management programs (70% of nonprofit masters programs don’t require a course in fundraising) and a general malaise about the future, it is past time to bring back the man who crystallized a unified vision of the future with optimism, humility and resolve: Gene Tempel.Gene, I speak for thousands of leaders in the nonprofit field:  Welcome back.Gene and I have talked several times and as you can tell, I am excited about his putting together this School at IU. I hope IU’s commitment to philanthropy and growing it in America and worldwide can once again establish IU as the true Center on philanthropy. We have the only Gene Tempel Scholar designation in the country); our Growing Philanthropy Award (Gene was a 2011 recipient); our Days of Service helping small nonprofits throughout America; and our active application of fundraising research with now 30 beta sites with nonprofits all over America.  Hartsook Companies, Inc., under the leadership of President and CEO Matt Beem, joins me in that commitment.We believe that the Kinetic Chair in Fundraising will have an opportunity to once again thrive in this new School. We expect to see The Arthur Frantzreb Lecture Series be reignited to address important fundraising issues and the Million Dollar Gift Report—developed by our now deceased Kinetic Chairman Emeritus Frantzreb and given to the School—continue to grow in its relevance and impact.I have told Gene that as the plans for the new school unfold, in some way I want to lighten his load with support.Congrats Gene . . .sorry, make that Dean Tempel.