James B. Piatt Jr. has been named vice president for university advancement at Elon University. Piatt currently serves as vice president for college advancement at Mount Union College, Alliance, Ohio. He will succeed Nan P. Perkins, who retires this year after a 32-year career at Elon.
During the past eight years at Mount Union, Piatt has directed the college’s $80 million “Drive for Distinction” campaign, helping to build the school’s $144 million endowment. He has been a member of the President’s Council, managing a staff of 13 and overseeing major campus public events. He has also led a revitalization of the Mount Union alumni activities program, and developed a young alumni program.
“Jim Piatt has already built a national reputation as a rising star in university advancement programs,” says Leo M. Lambert, Elon president. “We were impressed by his strong record of success at Mount Union as well as his experience at other top universities. He will be an excellent fit for Elon’s advancement division, which this year set all-time fundraising records and has received national awards for improvement during the past two years.”
Prior to Mount Union, Piatt was associate director of development at the Stanford University Law School from 1999 to 2000, and spent three years as development director in the College of Letters & Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Piatt began his higher education career at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, where he was assistant dean for development in the College of Communications, and assistant director of admissions.
“Joining Elon University is a unique opportunity,” Piatt says. “Elon has enjoyed a meteoric rise to national prominence in higher education, and I look forward to joining an outstanding group of colleagues who are dedicated to reaching the highest levels of excellence in advancing the fundraising, alumni relations and communications efforts of the university.”
Piatt has a master’s degree in business administration from Ohio University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations from the university’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
Piatt and his wife, Amy, have three children. He begins his duties at Elon Nov. 1.