Oct. 16, 2009
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Christy Passmore was named executive director of Vanderbilt Athletics Development and the National Commodore Club on July 27. A 19-year veteran in development at Vanderbilt, Passmore led the athletics development team to their most successful fundraising year of the past five when she served as interim executive director for the fiscal year completed in June. Below, Commodore Nation provides NCC members with a closer look into many topics with a Q&A.
Commodore Nation: You’ve been in the interim role for one year now, how will your role change now that you are no longer interim director?
Christy Passmore: Athletics has my undivided attention. While in the interim role, I had additional responsibilities to the university for the Shape the Future Campaign, as well as several other areas in my portfolio. Now that I’m here full-time, I would say my intensity and focus is now 200% engaged.
CN: What are a few of your top priorities in the position?
CP: Facility renovations for football in McGugin Center are at the top of the “to do” list right now. Coach Bobby Johnson has been a grand member of the Vanderbilt family…he’s been steady and deliberate in building the football program. And he’s been patiently waiting for the facilities he needs to take his program to the next level, especially as it relates to recruitment. How the place looks and how it feels matter to prospective student-athletes evaluating where they will spend their collegiate careers.
Another important priority will always be growing athletics’ endowment to help ensure scholarships will be there in perpetuity. We began that focus in fiscal year 2006 in consideration of a $25 million goal; we have secured gifts, pledges and documented bequests totaling $19 million, so we still have a ways to go in that area.
The third area will be the growth of the National Commodore Club. Why does it matter so much? NCC funds help us meet the annual scholarship commitment, which is one of the largest budget items in the Division of Student-Athletics. A full grant-in-aid for a scholarship athlete at Vanderbilt is slightly more than $50,000 a year. And to give our incoming freshmen a head start on acclimating themselves to Vanderbilt, many of them attend summer school, which is an added financial aid expense. The NCC is a key partner working with Vice Chancellor David Williams to help ensure the dollars he needs will be there to pay for the complete student-athlete experience. There are almost 3,000 members of the NCC, and every gift at every level matters.
CN: How do you plan on balancing the major gift/facility campaign effort and the annual fund/NCC effort?
CP: Balance implies something to be equalized; I really prefer to think of it as coordination of the various aspects of fundraising/development. Annual gifts, such as gifts to the NCC, provide the “foundation” necessary on which to build. NCC is the best way to help all our student-athletes, and every gift counts toward building that foundation, large or small. Of the $13 million gifts and pledges this year, a little over $2.8 million was given to the NCC. Similarly, we have allocated resources to grow our major gifts program, for which we have a plan for the current year. We even have plans in the works for FY 2011. Many individuals will make their annual NCC gift, and they will also make a multi-year commitment to facilities or endowment with a major gift…or a planned gift. They might document a bequest. The coordination of priorities and the variety of ways to support them is a delicate conversation and requires skillful, knowledgeable people…like Lucy Jones, John Erck, Cal Cook and Robin Langlois. Each of us plays a role, and each of us depends on each other to keep things coordinated and moving in the right direction. Ultimately, however, it’s about the donor and his/her choices as it relates to their philanthropic goals.
CN: How is fundraising going for the facility campaign?
CP: You can see the manifestation of much of itâ€â€Âthe improvements at Vanderbilt Stadium, the additions to Hawkins Field. The men’s and women’s basketball locker rooms, which are out of public view, are spectacular and a real plus as Melanie and Kevin plan and recruit for the future. Our efforts for McGugin football improvements are going well, but we have been a little slowed by the forces of the economy. Stocks were depreciated; retirement portfolios took big hits. My experience is that philanthropists tend to find their way around those obstacles in time when they are committed to something, and we are fortunate to have many fans and supporters saying, “I want to help, give me a little time.” As we go to press, we need about $700,000 to meet the $3 million goal in order for work to begin on the football project at McGugin.
CN: As executive director, what would you like to do to help athletics forge an even better relationship with alumni and, in turn, help membership numbers grow?
CP: In my 19 years at Vanderbilt, I’ve watched athletics go from being a curiosity to many of us working or studying in other parts of the campus to becoming a full-fledged integrated operation now involving many aspects of the university as a matter of routine. It’s not perfect, but it’s been a good model for Vanderbilt, and it’s working! Our teams are performing better academically, they are competitive across the board, and our coaches seem to really like it here. The story is partially told through victories, but it also goes way beyond that. We’ve got to do a better job of communicating the story to our alumni and friends around the world. One of the most popular sessions at reunion over the last several years has been Vice Chancellor David Williams’ seminar on the history of Motown. Here’s a guy who runs athletics and so much more in the life of the university, and alumni flock to hear him. He’s spoken at several summer send-offs this summer meeting and greeting incoming freshmen, their parents and local alumni. I’m not sure you would see AD’s at other SEC schools extending themselves in such a way.
CN: How do you plan on reaching out to alumni outside of Nashville?
CP: There is so much in this area that thrills me to think about for our future. Vanderbilt teams play in a lot of different states – even internationally. We need to do a better job letting our alumni know when a Vanderbilt team is within driving distance so they can attend if possible. We want alumni to come to homecoming and reunion. We want them to visit us during parent and family weekend or any weekend when they come to visit their children who are students here. We want former student-athletes to come to campus and revisit their former arenas of play and reconnect with their teammates. We want to provide more alumni packages for tournaments and post-season play. We want to partner with our colleagues in alumni relations under the direction of newly appointed Associate Vice Chancellor James Stofan, to evaluate all the ways alumni want to be engaged with Vanderbilt Athletics. Athletics is the “welcome mat” for the University; we’re here as a big front door to come in, enjoy and become reacquainted with old and new friends, classmates.
CN: Are there any significant changes members of the National Commodore Club should be aware of?
CP: We’ve been watching change unfold before our very eyes over the last 6-8 years in this Athletics program, don’t you think? It’s been positive, uplifting and downright energizing for me and to all of us who love the Commodores and are part of the Vanderbilt community. NCC members have shared their approval with me regarding the current path Vanderbilt is traveling toward athletic success as well as academic success of our student-athletes. It is safe to say building on that success likely will require more of all of us â€â€ NCC members, fans, athletics administration, NCC office and me, too. At times, whatever the “more” becomes will be hailed as welcomed change, and sometimes, it may not. I’m hoping the goodwill generated from the results of change over the last several years has built trust and confidence that whatever happens will be ultimately for the good of the student-athletes and the 16 sports they represent.
CN: You’ve been working in development at Vanderbilt for almost 20 years, what is it that attracted you to athletics?
CP: It’s really about the kids … how can you not be crazy about these amazing students and not do everything you can to make this experience second-to-none for them? They turn themselves inside out to study and make their grades, practice their sport, make themselves physically stronger by working out, devote time to teammates and their community. They are amazing time managers. They just rock. I learn something every time I visit with one of them.
CN: What is it about Vanderbilt University that has kept you here for these years?
CP: Who wouldn’t want to be here? We are doing lots of special things â€â€ transformative things â€â€ at Vanderbilt. We educate future leaders, we create solutions, we answer the riddles of the ages, we save lives, we serve others, we celebrate community, we honor traditions. Behind all of that is one common denominator â€â€ people. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, fans, donors â€â€ we play a role in all that. That’s why I love Vanderbilt.
CN: What is your most memorable moment as a Commodore fan?
CP: That’s like picking your favorite child!
– How could you not be moved to tears watching our amazing women’s basketball team blow through the SEC tournament this year, then the NCAA regionals and into the Sweet 16? They just played with so much heart!
– There was the 5:30 a.m. drive from my home in Green Hills to the Commons to have the ESPN College Game Day experience wondering all the way how many would get up at that gosh-awful hour to be part of Vanderbilt history? Then to have that topped off with a victory over Auburn!
– How about sharing the Music City Bowl win with my two nephews? We were so excited â€â€ though frozen solid â€â€ we just stood there for the better part of 30 minutes after the trophy ceremony soaking in that win!
– I can’t leave out the football win over Tennessee in 2005. I had watched the game on television with a friend, a 1947 graduate of Vanderbilt. That was special in itself, but later that evening, I was so moved and inspired, I came to McGugin to be there as the team arrived.
– Then, there was the excitement and accolades as our women’s bowling team brought Vanderbilt its first national championship. When I saw that photograph of the team with the President at the White House, well, it just filled me with such pride to point to that accomplishment and say, “my university, my team.”
