Vice President for Advancement Kim Harris has been at Colgate since October 2021 and participated in the University’s public launch of the Campaign for the Third Century in April 2022. She began as associate vice president for advancement, major gifts and then was promoted to senior associate vice president, campaign director. She took up her current leadership role in March 2025. Colgate Magazine asked Harris to reflect on her tenure and what she hopes to see in Colgate’s Third Century.
Q: How do you see the role of advancement in connecting donors with Colgate’s ambitions?
A: In advancement, we are positioned between an institution’s aspirations and the resources our supporters have worked their whole lives to generate. They are choosing to consider us. To sit in the middle and be an honest broker for that choice is a privilege. There’s a magic that happens when philanthropy and vision collide. When a donor — or group of donors — understands where Colgate wants to go and is ready to invest in that future, that’s a very special thing.
Q: How do Colgate University donors impact the institution, and what motivates their philanthropy?
A: Donors invest in us for a variety of personal reasons. When they connect to the power of their experience as students or as parents of current students and recognize that we will continue to create that experience for future students, they see a home for their philanthropic investment at Colgate. It’s not a transaction — they choose to invest in our vision, and they deserve tremendous gratitude for that.
Q: Campaigns are marathons, not sprints. Have you found boosts of excitement along the way so far?
A: I have experienced several exciting moments throughout this campaign — whether considering the power of donations to the Colgate Fund or the Colgate Athletics Fund to support our Division I athletics teams; or working with individuals who support financial aid, our capital vision, or the strength of our academic enterprise. I’ve had them when I look at the efforts around our constituency groups and the care we take with the Women’s Leadership Council or the Parents’ Steering Committee. Ultimately, I want to make sure that this campaign has a home for everyone who wants to be a part of it.
Q: How do you keep the momentum going in the campaign and keep everyone motivated to move toward the ambitious $1 billion goal?
A: Motivation is not just a call that I issue — it is a behavior I must model. This campaign is in support of the Third-Century Plan, which requires resources beyond the dollar goal. We are in a campaign with a goal that we will achieve and celebrate, but we have profound initiatives with great clarity and definition that will take our efforts past that goal. Even when we reach that goal, it’s not really the end of the campaign — it’s a moment of celebration and transition to the next call of the plan. The plan is a living thing, and the campaign is here to provide nourishment for the life of the plan.
Q: What challenges have you faced when it comes to the campaign and what hurdles have you overcome?
A: I think sometimes the challenge can be our responsibility to help people understand that philanthropic outcomes are not linear. If you look at our trend line, there are spikes and plateaus, and that is the way it should be. If you don’t have the context, that could look like success, failure, success, failure. When I look at our trend line, I see the rhythm or the heartbeat of a campaign. When I present that data, it’s important that I tell the story of that data. I think that’s the responsibility that comes along with that challenge.
Q: When you imagine the future of the campaign and what it means for Colgate, what do you see?
A: I imagine a campus that feels as serious and important as we’ve always been and new at the same time. It is like a plant that has deep roots, but new growth here and there. That looks like new buildings. It looks like new and enhanced environments, whether it’s Peter’s Glen or other landscaping that creates a sense of home around campus. It looks like the faces of students and faculty who maybe didn’t walk our campus 20 years ago and are here now. It looks like opportunities through curriculum and programming that step up to meet the call of higher education in a global environment.