Dr. Peter Smits is Vice President Emeritus at California State University, Fresno.  With over 40 years’ experience in the advancement arena for higher education, he has extensive expertise with fundraising and campaigns, alumni relations, communications and foundation management. He is currently Senior Consultant with The Phoenix Philanthropy Group. When he was a Senior Fellow with CASE International, his research interests included the ways in which campuses identify, measure, and grow their culture of philanthropy. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of California Health Sciences University, an accredited medical school in Clovis, CA.

Fresno State completed its first comprehensive campaign in 2013 and surpassed its $200 million campaign goal by 7%, reaching $214.2 million. One campaign highlight included the largest cash gift in the history of the CSU, $29.4 million.

A former member of the CASE District VII board of directors and its Executive Committee, Peter was a member of the CASE Commission on Philanthropy, was the most senior vice president in the 23-campus California State University system and was the inaugural chair of the CSU Council of Vice Presidents. He is past president of the Central California chapter of AFP, and a recipient of that chapter’s Fundraising Executive of the Year award. He recently received the CASE Tribute Award.

Peter has presented at workshops, seminars and conferences for CASE International, CASE Districts VII and VIII, the Association of Governing Boards and the Association for Fundraising Professionals. He frequently serves as a workshop or retreat facilitator for foundation boards and alumni boards.

Prior to his appointment at Fresno State, he served as Vice President for Advancement at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in western Pennsylvania.  He has also served as Executive Assistant to the Chancellor at Louisiana State University in Shreveport, Vice President for College Relations and Development at the State University of New York at Brockport and Dean of Students at The College of White Plains in New York. He has served as Interim Vice President for Advancement at Chico State, Sonoma State and San José State.

Dr. Smits earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the State University of New York at Albany, and the Ph.D. from the University of Buffalo. He completed post-doctoral work at Harvard University.