Amelia Alverson will step down as Executive Vice President (EVP) for University Development and Alumni Relations on September 15, 2025.

As of September 15, 2025 Amelia Alverson is stepping down as EVP for University Development and Alumni Relations. She will be moving to Northwell Health, where she will serve as Chief Development Officer and Executive Vice President of the Northwell Foundation, according to a message from Acting President Claire Shipman to the Columbia Community. 

Alverson has been at Columbia for 16 years, acting as a “trusted adviser,” Shipman wrote, adding that her impact on the University to “secure support for [their] mission” will “benefit generations to come.”

When Alverson began her tenure at Columbia in 2009, she served as Senior Vice President of Development at Columbia’s Irving Medical Center. She was appointed to her current role by former University president Lee Bollinger in 2014.

In the role, Alverson played a primary role in designing The Columbia Commitment, a fundraising campaign that raised $5.6 billion over five years, according to Shipman’s message. Funds from the campaign went toward research, financial aid, humanities, and more. 

Alverson also steered several large philanthropic gifts and partnerships. In her email, Shipman specifically referenced the contributions that resulted in the renaming of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Irving Medical Center. 

Alverson “cares about the interests and lives of the many people who have stepped forward to contribute to our mission, and that care is palpable,” Shipman wrote. “Her impact and generosity will continue to shape this institution in the years and decades ahead, and I am deeply grateful for her service.”

As Alverson prepares to depart, Susan K. Feagin (GS’74) will return as the Interim EVP for University Development and Alumni Relations. Feagin served in this role from 2002 to 2010, during which she oversaw initiatives raising over $6 billion and led the creation of the Columbia Alumni Association.

In addition, Ryan Carmichael will step into the role of Senior Vice President of Development, working closely with Feagin and overseeing the operations of the Office of Alumni Relations and Development.

Email from Columbia University Acting President Claire Shipman to the Columbia community on Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at 2:41 pm:

Dear members of the Columbia community,

I am writing to share that Amelia Alverson, Columbia’s Executive Vice President (EVP) for University Development and Alumni Relations, will step down on September 15, 2025, to become Chief Development Officer of Northwell Health and Executive Vice President of the Northwell Foundation.

In her 16 years at Columbia, Amelia has been a trusted adviser to me, my predecessors, our senior team, and our Board of Trustees. Her leadership has helped transform Columbia’s ability to secure support for our mission, leaving an enduring legacy that will benefit generations to come.

Amelia arrived at Columbia in 2009, serving under former CUIMC CEO Lee Goldman, as Senior Vice President of Development at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. In 2014, she was appointed EVP for University Development and Alumni Relations by President Lee Bollinger. In this role, she was the architect of The Columbia Commitment, the most ambitious year-over-year campaign in higher education at the time, which ultimately raised $5.6 billion in five years. This historic effort expanded student financial aid, advanced scientific and medical research, and strengthened the arts and humanities, building a strong financial foundation for Columbia’s future.

Amelia was also responsible for guiding some of the most consequential philanthropic partnerships in our history, including transformational gifts that led to the renaming of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) and the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. These landmark gifts from Roy and Diana Vagelos and Herbert and Florence Irving are advancing cancer research and patient care, fueling work in precision medicine, and strengthening our capacities in basic science, as well as making it possible for VP&S to be the first medical school in the nation to eliminate student debt for its students.

Columbia’s success during Amelia’s tenure has always rested on her personal qualities—her warmth, authenticity, and steadfast dedication to our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and patients. She is exceptional at what she does because of who she is—somebody who listens, spends time, and cares. She cares about the interests and lives of the many people who have stepped forward to contribute to our mission, and that care is palpable. Her impact and generosity will continue to shape this institution in the years and decades ahead, and I am deeply grateful for her service.

With Amelia transitioning to her new role, I am pleased to announce that Susan K. Feagin will return as Interim Executive Vice President for University Development and Alumni Relations, beginning September 15, 2025. Many of you may know Susan from her previous service in this role from 2002 to 2010, when she oversaw a campaign that raised more than $6 billion. She also led the effort to create the Columbia Alumni Association.

Susan, a proud alumna of Columbia’s School of General Studies (GS’74), has remained deeply engaged with the University, chairing the GS Board of Visitors, receiving the GS Owl Award for alumni volunteerism in 1998, and being awarded the Columbia Alumni Medal in 2011.

Additionally, Ryan Carmichael has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Development to work closely with Susan. Ryan has been with Columbia since 2007, partnering with 12 Morningside schools, units, and institutes as well as Columbia Global to raise critical support from alumni and friends. He will now also oversee the core operations of the Office of Alumni Relations and Development.

Please join me in thanking Amelia and in welcoming Susan back, full time, to Columbia.

Sincerely,

Claire Shipman

Acting President, Columbia University in the City of New York

Amelia Alverson via Columbia