Topics: President, Administrative
March 14, 2011
An old friend is the new vice president for university advancement at Ball State. President Jo Ann M. Gora announced that T.W. Hudson Akin, who was executive director of development at Ball State from 1995 until 2003, will assume the post on April 11.
Most recently, Akin was a Dallas-based independent consultant providing fundraising services and advice for various nonprofit philanthropic organizations and businesses in the areas of structure, personnel, fund development and reaching strategic centers of influence. He succeeds Ben E. Hancock, who left Ball State to assume the presidency of Methodist University in Fayetteville, N.C.
Akin served as vice president for university advancement at the University of South Carolina from 2003 until his departure for Dallas in 2006 to accept the position of executive vice president for development at Children's Medical Center, a 400-bed, 4,000-employee private pediatric teaching hospital affiliated with University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. The facility receives more than 300,000 patient visits per year, requiring an annual budget in excess of $1.5 billion.
While at the center, Akin helped secure the largest single gift — $10 million — in the institution's history, en route to raising more than $74 million for the hospital in three years.
"Even as we prepare to celebrate the culmination of Ball State Bold, our latest and largest capital campaign, we know that our efforts to support this outstanding university and our students must be unrelenting," said Gora. "In the current economic environment, the challenges we face are both significant and immediate. Hudson's success in organizing staff, energizing volunteers and engendering philanthropy across a broad range of donors promises great things for us as he returns to the university, where his familiarity with Ball State will be a tremendous advantage. We shouldn't miss a beat."
Akin has previous experience, as well, as vice president for external affairs at Louisiana Tech University, 1990-95, and as vice president and chief operating officer with the Louisiana Bankers Association, 1980-90. He is a graduate of Louisiana Tech with a degree in human resource management.
"I am passionate about the opportunities to advance Ball State University and to share the story about the Ball State experience with those who have not yet heard it or who need to know more," said Akin. "I embrace the opportunity to work alongside President Gora, the Board of Trustees and my colleagues on campus to achieve the bold goals set forth for the university. The opportunity to assist Ball State in achieving its vision to help students receive a great college experience is very exciting."