John M. Malcolm Named Vice President of Institutional Advancement

Dear members of the Emerson community,

I am pleased to announce that following an extensive national search, John M. Malcolm has been named the next Vice President of Institutional Advancement of Emerson College. John will begin his work at Emerson on September 3, serving as a key member of the President’s Council, and leading the College’s talented team of advancement, fundraising, alumni engagement, marketing and communications professionals.

John brings an exceptional wealth of experience in building highly successful development operations in the higher education and not-for-profit sectors.

John comes to Emerson from Partners in Health, where he has served as Chief Development Officer since 2016, successfully leading the organization’s individual giving operation, corporate and foundation partnerships, public sector partnerships, and donor services. Working closely with the CEO of Partners in Health, John’s efforts led to an increase in total annual cash gifts from $106 million to $140 million during his three-year tenure.

Prior to his work at Partners in Health, John was the Vice President of College Relations at Williams College, where he worked with the President to lead the College’s $700 million campaign, collaborating to secure the largest gift in Williams’ history and bringing the overall alumni campaign participation rate to 75 percent. John’s previous career experience in higher education includes development leadership roles at Swarthmore College and Bucknell University.

In addition to extensive fundraising experience, John brings passion and a lifelong commitment to combating social injustice. John spent six years at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, where he first served as the organization’s Vice President of Philanthropy, then later as President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles. There, he partnered with the Board to set and meet ambitious service and fundraising goals, managing a team that provided mentoring services to more than 1,500 at-risk youth.

Early in his career, John worked for the Citizen Labor Energy Coalition/Citizen Action for six years. After graduating from Williams College, John was hired as a canvasser before progressing to the rank of Field Canvass Director, where he led offices in San Jose, California; Portland, Oregon; and Eugene, Oregon. He was named to the organization’s Fundraising Hall of Fame in 1987.

John and his partner reside in Boston’s South End and seasonally in Provincetown. They share a love of family, fitness and travel.

My thanks go to Al Jaffe, co-vice chair of the Emerson College Board of Trustees, who chaired the search committee for this critical position, and to the members of the committee:

Jeff Greenhawt ‘68, Chair, Board of Trustees
Marillyn Zacharis, Secretary, Board of Trustees
Doug Herzog ‘81, Member, Board of Trustees
Robert Miller, Member, Board of Trustees
Pat Peyton ‘84, Member, Board of Trustees
Linda Schwartz ‘67, Member, Board of Trustees
Jim Hoppe, Vice President and Dean, Campus Life
Sylvia Spears, Vice President, Equity and Social Justice
Leigh Gaspar, Associate Vice President, Alumni Engagement
Martie Cook, Professor, Comedic Arts, Visual and Media Arts
Jess Guida, ’19, Visual and Media Arts graduate and former Student Government Association President

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Leigh Gaspar for serving as Interim Vice President of Institutional Advancement; Leigh will continue to lead the College’s alumni engagement and annual giving efforts.

Please join me in welcoming John to the Emerson community when he begins his work at the College at the start of the academic year.

Sincerely,
Lee Pelton