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CORVALLIS - Oregon State University President Ed Ray today announced that J. Michael Goodwin has been named the president and CEO of the OSU Foundation. Goodwin is the vice president for alumni and university relations for Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

"Mike has had great success in launching and completing university-wide capital campaigns," Ray said. "He has experience in both the public and private university sectors and he understands the land grant mission. He will provide exceptional leadership for Oregon State University's first capital campaign."

At Georgetown, Goodwin directed the largest and most successful fund-raising campaign in the university's history, which raised more than $1 billion.

"We're very pleased to have attracted a person of Mike's caliber," said Jim Rudd, chair of the OSU Foundation Board of Governors. "He is a proven leader with a national reputation. The knowledge and experience he developed at not only Georgetown, but also Washington State, is going to be a boon to our fund-raising efforts."

Goodwin, a native of Seattle, Wash., has more than 24 years of experience in fund-raising. From 1986 to 1994, he held leadership positions at Washington State University Foundation, where he directed a $275 million capital campaign. At Georgetown, he is credited with designing and implementing the $1 billion Third Century Campaign, as well as more than tripling the productivity of the development staff.

He also oversaw a large increase in the percentage of alumni with undergraduate degrees giving to the annual fund, growing from 25 percent to 35 percent over eight years.

Goodwin says plans for OSU's capital campaign are part of the reason he decided to take the job.

"This is an opportunity for me to come to a university development program that is achieving good results, and help guide it to the next level," he said. "Great campaigns are built on a three-way partnership - the academic side, the volunteers and the professional staff. At OSU, the volunteers are behind us; the deans are ready; the staff is excited.

"Clearly, this university is poised to have a great campaign."

Besides enjoying the challenge of orchestrating a major fund-raising drive, Goodwin says he is drawn to OSU's land grant mission.

"Access to higher education, coupled with practical research and scholarship, is important to me and to our society," he said.

Goodwin is a frequent presenter at professional conferences, most recently at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Conference on Major and Planned Giving. He has served as a CASE District VIII board member, including two terms as district chair.

The OSU Foundation is the nonprofit organization chartered to raise and administer private funds for Oregon State University. The foundation has total assets of $441.5 million and boasts an endowment of more than $277.7 million. Major fund-raising projects in recent years have included the construction of the Kelley Engineering Center, the restoration of Weatherford Hall and the expansion of Reser Stadium. At the same time, the foundation has raised significant funding for scholarships, research and teaching.

In 2003-2004 the OSU Foundation raised $53.1 million, one of the best years in its history.

Goodwin succeeds James Reinmuth, the former dean of the University of Oregon's College of Business, who came out of retirement in 2003 to serve as interim president and CEO of the OSU Foundation.

Goodwin will start his new position in November.