Camarillo, California (Nov. 16, 2022) — CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) President Richard Yao, Ph.D., has named Richard LeRoy as the next Vice President for University Advancement (VPUA), effective immediately.

LeRoy has served as Interim VPUA since January of 2022, having joined the campus in August of 2017 as Senior Director of Development. In November of 2021, he accepted the role of Associate Vice President for University Development.

“I am humbled to serve as the next Vice President for University Advancement and to continue to build upon our success in philanthropic support for CSUCI,” LeRoy said. “I love this University and our mission, and I am excited about the opportunities ahead of us where we will connect with donors and our 25,000 alumni in more profound ways.”

Some of LeRoy’s other plans include developing even more partnerships beyond the campus in order to create real-world, hands-on learning opportunities for CSUCI students, and to continue to develop rich relationships with campus supporters whose philanthropy has furthered the continued success of the campus.

LeRoy intends to keep diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility work at the center of his efforts to widen the circle of friends to the University.

“I want to demonstrate how donors can make a real impact in addressing equity gaps while investing in an institution committed to academic excellence,” he said.

Under LeRoy’s leadership, the size of CSUCI’s Foundation total assets doubled from $24.7 million in 2017 to over $56.1 million in 2022.

Since arriving at CSUCI, LeRoy has built a comprehensive major gift development program that has resulted in raising over $47 million in support of the University and students. His work contributed significantly to CSUCI’s receipt of a $15 million gift from philanthropist Mackenzie Scott, and a $10.5 million gift from the Martin V. and Martha K. Smith Foundation.

LeRoy’s efforts to connect with the Santa Barbara community resulted in a 300% increase in support over the last four years. He also helped to increase the annual giving participation rate by adding a Class Giving Program and improving outreach to alumni, as well as establishing the foundation and infrastructure for regional and affinity alumni chapters including CSUCI’s first Black Alumni Chapter.

His work in supporting the campus mission toward social and racial justice involved helping to create CSUCI’s first Inclusive Excellence Action Plan and the President’s Undocumented Students Task Force.

LeRoy’s innovative programming for students and alumni led to enhanced industry partnerships with national and regional companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS), The Trade Desk, and Meissner Filtration. This increased corporate giving and enhanced employer relations, which in turn led to higher employment rates for CSUCI graduates.

Prior to joining CSUCI, he held various roles at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO) from 2000-2017. His last leadership position at Cal Poly SLO was as Assistant Dean of Advancement for the College of Engineering (2012-2017). There, he oversaw fundraising campaigns and philanthropy, donor relations, advancement operations, and alumni relations for the College.

He earned his Master of Education degree in Counseling and Guidance from Cal Poly SLO, and his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Spanish from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.

“Because of Richard’s educational background and experience in Advancement, his continued leadership in Development, and the firmness of his belief that the University’s diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility work is critical to the Division of University Advancement’s success as much as it is for every other division, I know that he will continue to serve our campus well as we move into the next chapter of our collective future,” Yao said.