January 8, 2004 | Read Time: 2 minutes
In a move that took many college fund raisers by surprise, Vance T. Peterson last month announced that he was resigning as president of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, in Washington.
Mr. Peterson left on December 31, just 15 days after his departure was announced.
John Lippincott, vice president of communications at the council, has been named interim president, and will serve until a successor is found.
CASE represents fund raisers, public-relations officers, and alumni-relations officials at schools, colleges, and universities.
Mr. Peterson had been president since 2001, and will work as an informal consultant to the organization until a new president has been found, according to a joint statement by Mr. Peterson and Kent D. Rollins, chairman of the council’s board and president of the University Medical Center Foundation, in Tucson.
The statement said Mr. Peterson felt it was time to move on.
‘Done Everything I Can’
“I have done everything I can for CASE,” Mr. Peterson said in the statement. “I take great satisfaction in knowing that this is a stronger and more successful organization today than when I arrived.”
Mr. Rollins said that Mr. Peterson had accomplished a great deal, including completion of a comprehensive strategic plan.
Mr. Lippincott has worked at CASE since October 1999.
Before joining CASE, he was associate vice chancellor for advancement for the University of Maryland system, in College Park.
Mr. Lippincott said the search for a new president is likely to take “many months” and might attract “candidates not just nationwide but from other parts of the world.”
Mr. Lippincott said he had not decided yet if he will be a candidate for the permanent job. He said the board must “think through exactly what they want in the position.”
Once there is an official job description for the opening, Mr. Lippincott said he would look at it to “see if it is something that interests me or not.”
The council has 3,200 member universities, schools, and other institutions, as well as 24,000 individual members in 45 countries.
