The University of Nevada, Las Vegas today announced the retirement of John Gallagher, Ph.D., from his positions as UNLV vice president for development and executive director of the UNLV Foundation. Nancy Strouse, UNLV Foundation senior associate vice president for development, has agreed to assume responsibility for interim executive leadership of the UNLV Foundation and the overall management of UNLV's development activities, pending approval by the foundation board's executive committee.

"John Gallagher has been a wonderful asset to the university, and we are sorry to see him leave," said UNLV President David Ashley. "In particular, I am impressed with the quality and stability of the organization he has been able to develop. It serves as a wonderful springboard for the successful continuation of the Invent the Future campaign."

"One of John's greatest achievements has been putting the Invent the Future campaign firmly on track," said Don Snyder, campaign co-chair and UNLV Foundation Board of Trustees member. "He will be sorely missed, but thanks to his leadership, we anticipate a successful completion to our $500 million campaign."

The Invent the Future campaign, which began Jan. 1, 2002, entered its public phase in September 2005. The campaign — the largest effort of its type in state history — has raised more than $332 million in gifts and gift intentions to support student and faculty opportunities; innovative learning environments; and funds for research and community-focused programs. Strouse, who has more than 20 years in development management experience, joined UNLV in 2004 to reinforce fundraising efforts during the campaign.

"I have worked with Nancy Strouse on a number of occasions and believe she is an excellent choice to successfully lead the UNLV Foundation and UNLV's development initiatives" said Ted Quirk, incoming chairman of the UNLV Foundation Board of Trustees. "She has my full faith and support moving forward."

UNLV will be reorganizing its structure and recruiting for a vice president of advancement in the near future. Under this model, the university's alumni and community relations, communications, development, government relations, and public affairs functions will operate under the heading of "advancement" and the leadership of the new vice president.