By
Daniel Scarpinato
Arizona Summer Wildcat
Tom Sanders takes over $1 billion fundraising effort after 30 years of experience with the UA.
After serving as Interim Director of Campaign Arizona since February, Tom Sanders has been hired as executive director of the UA's $1 billion fundraiser.
Sanders, who took over for former director Rick Frish, is an alumnus of the University of Arizona.
"The university has changed dramatically since I graduated and since I've been employed here," Sanders said. "It's changed for the better, and it's been an extremely gratifying experience to see that happen."
UA Foundation President Dick Imwalle pointed to Sanders' experience in fundraising at the UA.
"Tom is the right person for this challenging job," Imwalle said. "His years of development leadership and fundraising success on behalf of the university make him uniquely qualified to lead Campaign Arizona through this critical period."
Sanders' first job at the UA was in 1972, when he was responsible for increasing alumni support and donations.
That effort was a success, and in 1978 Sanders began the UA Annual Fund, a program that raised more than $3 million in donations last year.
Sanders raised money for athletics from 1985 to 2000 as associate director of UA's Athletics for Development.
He retired from the position last year, but decided to stay with the university.
Sanders said his interest in fundraising lies in his connection to the university itself.
When Frish resigned to become the University of Hawaii's vice president for development, Sanders went on board as interim director before ultimately being given his current position, which became effective July 1.
Sanders said that as executive director of Campaign Arizona, he will be responsible for making sure that the fundraiser meets its $1 billion goal.
In addition, Sanders said he will be responsible for providing and encouraging communication between chairs and co-chairs.
The fundraiser, which began its official kick-off in October, still has four years to go though, according to Sanders, it has already exceeded its halfway mark.
"We would all be ecstatic if we were to surpass our goal," he said. "Our objective is to be as successful as possible."
Although Sanders has worked in fundraising for nearly 30 years, he said this position requires him to do something different.
"In my other positions, I was a fundraising specialist," he said. "Now I am a fundraising generalist."
Sanders explained that in the past he worked to increase or receive donations from a specific group for a specific cause.
Campaign Arizona, however, is not focused on any group in particular.
The effort has already raised nearly $600 million from both alumni and non-alumni for a host of university departments, organizations, and causes.
"Campaign Arizona represents an enormous and extraordinary opportunity for the university to become, through private support, one of the truly outstanding public universities in America," Sanders said.
