After Top Fundraising Officials Left Harvard, Alumni Affairs Office Reorganizes

Harvard’s central fundraising office has quietly undergone a sweeping leadership shakeup over the past year, as several of its most senior administrators departed and the University reorganized the unit responsible for managing its vast donor network.

Since James J. “Jim” Husson was named vice president of the Alumni Affairs and Development office in January 2025, the office has lost three senior leaders and undergone a broad internal restructuring designed to consolidate key fundraising operations, according to documents obtained by The Crimson.

The changes have reshaped the leadership ranks of AA&D, the office that coordinates fundraising across Harvard’s schools and manages relationships with the University’s alumni and top-dollar donors.

The most sweeping shift came in late January, when Husson announced a major reorganization of the office’s leadership structure.

In a message to staff — which was obtained by The Crimson — Husson said the changes would centralize several functions that had previously operated across AA&D’s four divisions. The restructuring expanded the role of Megan Tiede, who was appointed associate vice president for advancement communications, events, and donor relations.

Husson also created a new chief operating officer position overseeing finance, human resources, facilities, and administrative operations across the office. Julia H. Cavanaugh ’96 was appointed to the role and now supervises several internal units, including finance and administration, gift policy, due diligence, and the vice president’s office.

The restructuring also introduced plans for a new associate vice president for University development and advancement solutions — a role intended to bring together fundraising strategy, technology systems, and data analytics that had previously been housed in separate parts of the organization. Harvard had not yet filled the position as of February.

But the reorganization followed months of turnover among the office’s senior leadership.

In January, Jennifer E. Pachus — AVP in the University Development Office and a 35-year veteran of Harvard’s fundraising apparatus — told colleagues she would step down to pursue new professional opportunities, according to a message obtained by The Crimson.

“After 35 years of various roles with Harvard Alumni Affairs and Development, I have decided that, in order to stay challenged and continue my personal journey of discovery, I need to explore a new role, a new institution, or even a new industry,” Pachus wrote.

Pachus had spent decades working across Harvard’s development offices, including roles in the Harvard College Fund and Faculty of Arts and Sciences development operation, before eventually helping coordinate development strategy across the University.

Pachus did not respond to a request for comment.

Her departure came on the heels of another major leadership change.

In November, Husson informed staff that Harvard would eliminate the role of associate vice president for resources and chief operating officer, held by longtime administrator Siovhan O’Connor. In an email announcing the decision, Husson said the move was made “in the interest of managing the AA&D budget.”

O’Connor had spent nearly 32 years at Harvard and more than two decades in the fundraising office. O’Connor did not respond to a request for comment.

The first leadership departure came earlier in 2025, when Chief Development Office Michael McNally left Harvard to become chief development officer at Mass General Brigham after around a year and a half at the University.

McNally did not respond to a request for comment.

In announcing the January restructuring, Husson acknowledged that the changes could create uncertainty for staff.

“Significant organizational change is challenging,” Husson wrote. “It can create uncertainty, raise understandable questions about what lies ahead, and place real stress on individuals and teams.”

He added that AA&D faced “budgetary challenges” that would require reducing overall staffing levels.

Those reductions arrived earlier this week, when Harvard laid off 55 workers across the AA&D.

The leadership shakeup comes even as Harvard’s fundraising operation continues to report strong results. Harvard brought in $629 million in current-use donations in fiscal year 2025 — the highest total on record.

And in the first half of fiscal year 2026 alone, Harvard raised $695 million from gift and pledge payments, far outnumbering last year’s total of $440 million for the same period, according to a January presentation to AA&D staff by Dean of FAS Development Michael J. Faber.

—Staff writer Abigail S. Gerstein can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at abbysg.97. Follow her on X @abbysgerstein.

—Staff writer Amann S. Mahajan can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at amannsm.38. Follow her on X @amannmahajan.