UC Santa Cruz has hired Priya Mehta as Associate Vice Chancellor for Development. She is expected to join campus at the start of the new year.
Associate Vice Chancellor for Development is a pivotal leadership role on campus, and involves working at the highest levels internally and externally to generate philanthropic support for the university. Mehta will be responsible for — individually and through the managing of the development team — cultivating long-term donor relationships. She will serve as a principal strategist for leadership and major gifts and oversee Divisional Development staff embedded in the five academic divisions; Planned Giving; and Central Development including regional and campus initiatives. She will also serve as Vice President of the UC Santa Cruz Foundation.
Since 2014, Mehta has served as Assistant Dean, Strategy and External Relations, at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. There, she has been responsible for strategic planning and oversight of priority initiatives, as well as advancement, alumni relations, and events. For a number of years she also managed marketing and communications, completing a brand overhaul, full website redesign, and creative campaign for the school's 75th anniversary. The school is currently on track to exceed its $200 million fundraising goal as part of Berkeley’s $6 billion campaign. Previous to that, she was Director of Global Markets for BIO Ventures for Global Health in San Francisco. She earned her master’s in Business Administration from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and her bachelor’s in Government from Harvard University.
She will succeed Jeff Shilling, who left UC Santa Cruz earlier this fall for another position.
“Throughout the interview process, Priya quickly engendered the respect and trust from the university’s many stakeholders who had the opportunity to meet with her,” said Mark Delos Reyes Davis, Vice Chancellor for University Relations. “She brings with her not only the philanthropic experience needed to successfully serve in this role, but equally important a lens on how philanthropy can move an organization forward. She will be an extraordinary thought-partner to leadership, team members and donors alike as we continue in earnest our planning for our next comprehensive campaign, expected in the next few years."
