Having twice led the University through history-making capital campaigns, Yale officer Terry Holcombe has informed President Richard C. Levin of his plans to retire on Dec. 30 as Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs.
"The successful completion of the Yale Campaign seemed to Terry a natural break point after two decades of service," President Levin told Yale community members on Sept. 2, adding that he regretted losing such a close adviser and had tried to convince Mr. Holcombe to remain at Yale.
"Terry's service to Yale has simply been remarkable," said the President. "Terry's work has set the standard nationally for giving. Throughout his tenure, Yale has remained first among major research universities in total giving per alumnus. In Terry's first year, Yale raised $25 million; the total giving for this past year approximates $225 million. And the pace has been accelerating. In the last four years, the Alumni Fund has increased by 24 percent. The final total for the "... And for Yale" Campaign will be announced later this month, but it will be, by a wide measure, the largest amount ever achieved by an educational institution."
The recently concluded capital campaign is the second major fundraising effort that Mr. Holcombe has led at the University. As executive director of The Campaign for Yale completed in 1979, he helped raise more than $370 million in capital funds.
Mr. Holcombe also helped create "an extraordinarily strong organization to support alumni around the country and increasingly around the world," said the President. "In his casual, but conscientious way, he has been a consistent advocate for alumni in the counsel of the officers and the Corporation, and supportive of the increasingly diverse set of programs the AYA has developed.
"But Terry's contributions to Yale extend far beyond his work on behalf of development and alumni affairs," added Mr. Levin. "As an officer of the University, he has helped to shape all of the University policies developed in the last decade and a half. Six University presidents have relied on his wisdom, always peppered by his dry wit. On a personal note, I have relied on him immensely to counsel me, particularly in my rookie years, about how to complete the Campaign successfully."
Born in New Haven, Mr. Holcombe attended East Haven High School and earned his undergraduate degree from Yale in 1964. He also holds a master's degree from the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
For nine years after graduating from Yale, Mr. Holcombe worked for ACCION International, a nonprofit corporation providing grants and technical assistance to development projects in Latin America. As the organization's executive director, he established affiliate corporations throughout Latin America. Mr. Holcombe has also served as vice president of Whittier College 1974-76; executive director of The Campaign for Yale 1976-79; and vice president for university development and alumni relations at Columbia University 1979-81. During his tenure there, Columbia's total giving increased by 27 percent and the number of alumni donors increased by 10,000.
Mr. Holcombe returned to campus in 1981 as the University's first Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs. In that post, he has been the University officer responsible for all development activities, including the Alumni Fund, the Association of Yale Alumni, Alumni Records and other alumni relations activities.
Upon Mr. Holcombe's retirement, Vice President and Secretary Linda Koch Lorimer will become the Yale officer in charge of alumni affairs. Charles Pagnam, who has served as Mr. Holcombe's second-in-command for the past three years, will serve as Acting Vice President for Development while a national search for a permanent replacement is conducted.