Judith L. Heasley has been hired as the new executive director of University Advancement at Emporia State University and president of the ESU Foundation.
Heasley, the vice-president for institutional advancement at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Co., was recommended by the search committee and selected by ESU President Michael Lane after the on-campus interviews of three qualified candidates last week.
“Judy’s impressive array of skills and experience is a perfect fit for this position,” Lane said. “We are thrilled to bring her to Emporia State at a time when this university is poised for tremendous growth.”
In an open forum at ESU on Feb. 8, Heasley said one of the reasons she felt Emporia was a good fit for her at this stage in her career had to do with moving into a position that required some finishing touches to an already established fund-raising infrastructure.
“Leaving Durango and Fort Lewis College is bittersweet,” Heasley said. “However, the capstone of an advancement career is to have the opportunity to serve as the chief operating officer simultaneously for a foundation and an advancement division. The structure at Emporia State University has provided me with this chance — one too difficult to pass up.”
Heasley will begin at ESU on April 12.
“I want to thank all three candidates as well as our campus community for their participation in the interview process,” Lane said. “While it was a difficult decision, we consider it a blessing to have a choice of such outstanding professionals. I am confident that together our foundation and our university are poised to accomplish great things in the next five to seven years.”