Joseph W. Meister joined the University of Rochester's advancement team on June 1 as associate vice president of advancement services.
For the last 22 years, Meister has held positions of increasing responsibility and leadership at Johns Hopkins University with a focus on technology and business process development. In his most recent position, he was responsible for the development and maintenance of ALADIN, a fundraising system developed in-house with extensive prospect management and reporting capabilities. During this time, he was also responsible for research, technology management, and data administration functions.
The organization he oversaw provided information-related products and services to more than 400 customers in the alumni relations and development offices at Johns Hopkins. He managed a multi-million dollar budget and 65 full-time staff members.
"Of the many visits that I have made with staff at peer universities, I have never heard as many compliments about the central advancement system as I did when I visited Johns Hopkins," said Rochester's Senior Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer James D. Thompson. "Joe has immediately assumed responsibility for the advancement systems work already under way."
Meister said: "I have been following the progress of Rochester's advancement division over the past year. I am impressed by the high quality of the staff and by the entrepreneurial culture that has grown under Jim Thompson's leadership. Rochester provides a unique opportunity for me to take a fresh look at the business of advancement. I look forward to helping develop a leading-edge program that will help carry the University into the future."
As associate director at Johns Hopkins, Meister conducted an extensive review of commercial software packages and then took a leadership role in the university's effort to build its own database system. Prior to that, he gained extensive experience as manager of systems and production, systems analyst, and programmer. Originally a native of Rush, N.Y., Meister received his bachelor's degree in political economy from Johns Hopkins.