James Smith, Ph.D.​

James Smith is a Senior Consultant with Gonser Gerber, providing advancement and leadership consulting services to faith-based ministries, higher education, K-12 independent schools, healthcare systems, foundations, arts, social service, and other non-profit organizations. His areas of expertise include expanding philanthropic capacity through annual, capital, major and planned gift programs; campaign planning and execution; strategic planning and visioning; advancement team building; public relations; integrated marketing; executive search; and other aspects of institutional advancement.

Advancement and Executive Experience:

Prior to joining the firm, James served at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Ohio for 16 years in positions of increasing responsibility in areas ranging from recruitment and financial aid to marketing and advancement.  His entire higher education career was focused on the two revenue-generating areas on campus:  Enrollment/Marketing and Advancement.

James served as a member of the MVNU Senior Leadership Team for nine years, first as the Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing and then with expanded oversight as the Vice President for University Relations (VPUR). As VPUR, James provided strategic direction, leadership, and oversight for a broad set of offices including advancement, alumni relations, church relations, enrollment management, financial aid, and marketing.

Under James’ leadership, MVNU received a stream of the largest gifts in the institution’s history while growing its annual, major, alumni, and planned giving donor base. He successfully completed several campaigns and capital projects including a community-wide collaboration with the local school district, city, two local foundations, and MVNU to fundraise and establish a shared-use sports park that includes MVNU’s soccer and lacrosse stadium and community fields. Additionally, James invested deeply in community relations which helped MVNU expand their downtown campus including a new engineering and computer science center in a historic downtown building. During his time, James built a dynamic team that established institutional records for unrestricted annual giving, improved donor retention to 61%, and increased President’s Circle membership ($1,000+ annually) by 65%.

James holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration. Notably, his dissertation research focused on identifying the characteristics and practices of highly regarded senior leadership, positioning him as one of the few researchers who has studied this in a university or non-profit setting.

Education & Achievements

Education

Ph.D., Higher Education Administration, Azusa Pacific University, CA
M.A., Huntington University, IN
B.A., Mount Vernon Nazarene University, OH

Personal

Residence: Mount Vernon, OH
Family: Married to Kelly, 1 daughter and 3 sons