James B. Piatt, Jr., a 30+ year higher education advancement professional, serves as Senior Vice President University Advancement and External Affairs at Elon University. He has served Elon since 2008, when he joined the advancement team as Vice President for University Advancement. He has led Elon through two campaigns, the Elon LEADS Campaign, a $260 million comprehensive campaign concluded in December 2022, and the Ever Elon Campaign, a $107 million effort completed in December 2011.

During his tenure at Elon, the University’s annual fundraising production has tripled, the university’s endowment has grown from $83 million to $354 million, more than 400 endowed scholarships have been created, 15 new campus facilities have been fundraised, the number of alumni donors has doubled, and parent annual giving participation has advanced from 26% to 42%.

Prior to joining Elon, Mr. Piatt served eight years as Vice President for Advancement at Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, where he successfully directed an $82 million campaign. Earlier in his career, he served as Associate Director of Development at the Law School at Stanford University, Development Director for the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, and Assistant Dean for Development in the College of Communications at Ohio University.

 Mr. Piatt received his MBA from Ohio University in 1993 and his Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University in 1987. He has presented at the Council for the Aid and Support of Education, the Independent College Association of Ohio, the Southeast College Advancement Consortium, the American Council on Education, and the North Carolina Independent Association of Colleges and Universities. He is an active community member and enjoys annual missions work in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.