David Bower, USI Vice President for Development and Alumni Engagement, announces retirement

After 30 years with the University of Southern Indiana, 18 years as President of the USI Foundation and seven years as Vice President for Development, David Bower has announced plans to retire effective June 30, 2024, including leave with pay from July 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024. His official date of retirement will be January 1, 2025.

“President Rochon and I talked about the need for a capital campaign which would end June 30, 2024. He approved that plan and I thought that would be the perfect date to retire,” said Bower. “Although it has not worked out in exactly the way we thought, because of COVID and other factors, we have a great Foundation and Alumni team, an engaged and generous Board of Foundation Directors, and a wise and involved University Board of Trustees. Dr. Rochon will champion all aspects of ensuring private investment as the University continues to flourish. I leave my work content I have done my best, but with a deep sadness to no longer serve with all my colleagues and donors who make USI the great University it is.”

The University plans to launch a national search to fill the Vice President position this spring. The Vice President for Development and Alumni Engagement is responsible for leading the efforts of the Foundation and Alumni Office with the goal of attracting, acquiring and managing donors' charitable gifts to support and sustain the goals of the University and to create lasting ties with its alumni.

“I am both honored and humbled to thank David for his service to USI and to our Foundation,” said Dr. Ronald S. Rochon, USI President. “David’s unwavering dedication and profound impact will forever remain ingrained in our institution’s legacy. As he embarks on this new chapter, we celebrate his immense contributions and I extend my heartfelt gratitude for his invaluable service."

Bower was first hired by USI’s Founding President David L. Rice as a Gift Officer in 1994. He later served as both Assistant and Associate Director of Development. In 2006, he became President of the USI Foundation and Director of University Development. He was promoted to Vice President for Development and President of the USI Foundation in 2017. In 2022, the position was realigned as Vice President for Development and Alumni Engagement and President of the USI Foundation.

During his time at USI, Bower established Reflections, the Planned Giving Society of the USI Foundation. In 1998, he earned the prestigious Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) designation and, that same year, formed a committee of development officers in the Evansville region. Bower was the first and founding president of the Evansville Area Fundraising Council; a local affiliate of Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP); and a member of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners (CGB) for which he served two years on the Board of Directors.

The year before Bower began his tenure, the USI Foundation celebrated its 25th anniversary and reported $1.48 million in gifts and assets of $3.8 million. As of September 2023, total assets for the Foundation were $158 million, and it recorded an endowment of $141 million.

Bower was instrumental in USI’s first capital campaign, “USI: Education Taken Higher,” from 1996-98, leading the alumni giving efforts of the campaign which raised more than $24 million. From 2011-16, he led the Foundation’s second campaign, “Campaign USI: Elevating Excellence,” which raised $58.1 million in conjunction with the University’s 50th anniversary. Currently, a feasibility study has been completed in anticipation of a third capital campaign for the University.

During his time at USI, Bower has also led a number of University efforts outside of his role with the Foundation, including the inauguration planning for the University’s fourth president Dr. Ronald S. Rochon; funeral planning for the University’s Founding President Dr. David L. Rice, which was held on the USI campus; and heading up the University’s COVID-19 Task Force during the pandemic.