DickersonBakker Brings Dr. David Wright on Board as Senior Director of Higher Education Partnerships.
(Raleigh, N.C) December 12, 2023 – DickersonBakker, a national nonprofit consultancy, announced today the appointment of Dr. David Wright to the position of Senior Director of Higher Education Partnerships.
Dr. Wright is President Emeritus of Indiana Wesleyan University, and the Immediate Past Chair of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). He is an academic innovator who created many highly successful programs throughout his three decades as a university leader.
Previously, Dr. Wright served Azusa Pacific University and Indiana Wesleyan University as a faculty member, vice president, provost, and president. During his tenure, IWU grew to approximately 15,000 students, 1,200 full-time faculty and staff, and an operating budget of approximately $200 million.
"The work we do to draw our friends closer and give them opportunities to invest in our institutional missions is more important now than ever. As president of a large and multifaceted Christian university, I was always on the lookout for the best people, the best systems, the best solutions”, says Dr. Wright.
Dr. Wright’s work focused on increasing faculty scholarship and expanding IWU’s academic offerings, including the creation of IWU’s nationally recognized online programs, multi-state expansion into 15 regional centers in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, the establishment of Wesley Seminary at IWU, the IWU School of Health Sciences, IWU Engineering, as well as numerous international partnerships. During his leadership, IWU raised well over a hundred million dollars for annual operating funds, new program expansion, expansion/renovation of facilities, and endowments.
Dr. Wright joins the team at DickersonBakker with nearly 50 years of experience helping colleges/universities and many other types of nonprofit organizations gain the experience and resources necessary to fuel its growth, build sustainability, and achieve a greater impact. The firm offers a wide range of solutions to faith based higher education institutions, including providing assistance with capital campaigns, annual fundraising, grant development, executive search, and enrollment marketing.
“The more I've gotten to know DickersonBakker, the more impressed I've been with their people and their expertise. After 40 years of serving the best Christian non-profit organizations, I'm looking forward to helping DickersonBakker bring their integrity, knowledge, and skill to the world of Christian higher education. I know they will be a tremendous help to many of our institutions” says Dr. Wright.
Notably, DickersonBakker recently acquired Cargill Associates, a Dallas-area consulting firm that’s helped dozens of CCCU-member colleges and universities raise hundreds of millions of dollars through capital campaigns to build, renovate, or expand facilities, purchase land or property, advance programs, retire debt, and grow endowments.
In his role as Senior Director of Higher Education Partnerships with DickersonBakker, Dr. Wright will play a pivotal role in building and developing fruitful partnerships between DickersonBakker and faith based higher education institutions. In addition, he will also be accepting a limited number of personal consulting engagements focused on helping college/university presidents and other senior leaders craft strategy, drive innovation, hone their leadership skills, and optimize operational efficiency.
If you are interested in connecting with Dr. Wright to discuss ways DickersonBakker’s team can help your school grow and thrive, please do not hesitate to reach out. He can be reached at dwright@dickersonbakker.com.
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Founded in 1985, DickersonBakker has been providing a broad spectrum of professional consulting services to nonprofit organizations for nearly 40 years. In 2022, DickersonBakker acquired Cargill Associates, one of the longest-standing and most respected capital campaign consulting firms in the nation. Together, DickersonBakker and Cargill Associates have an unbroken track record of successfully consulting nonprofits for 47 years, raising billions of dollars. The firm recently expanded its offerings to include a full spectrum of direct response fundraising and marketing services to clients. With physical offices in Texas and North Carolina and full-time consultants living in almost every region of the country, our combined firms have served nearly eight thousand nonprofits located across the USA, Canada, and overseas.
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