Dear Faculty, Staff, Alumni and Donors,

After more than a dozen years of exceptional dedication and leadership, Eloise Dunn Brice has decided to retire from her position as University of Houston System vice chancellor for advancement and University of Houston vice president of advancement and alumni. Her last day will be July 15. While I tried my best to persuade her against this decision, I could not compete with the allure of spending more time with her grandchildren.

After serving in leadership roles at Vanderbilt and Penn State, Eloise joined the UH System and UH in January 2012 to launch the $1 billion “Here, We Go” campaign. The first $1 billion campaign in the UH System’s history met its fundraising goal 18 months ahead of schedule in August 2020.

The “Here, We Go” campaign also exceeded its goal, raising $1.2 billion, which led to the launch of 12 centers and institutes, over $200 million in scholarships and assisted with the renovation of 29 new and/or renovated facilities, including the UH Fertitta Center, the UH John M. O’Quinn Law Building, the UH TDECU stadium, the UH Durga and Sushila Agrawal Research Building, the UH-Victoria Stem building and the UH-Downtown Sciences and Technology Building. In addition, the campaign was instrumental in establishing UH’s Energy Transition Institute, HPE Data Science Institute and Humana Integrated Health Systems Sciences Institute, among other key initiatives. A consummate professional, she recently launched the Can’t Stop Houston Campaign - UH’s centennial campaign to raise another $1 billion — and is already at 62% of the goal.

During her tenure, Vice Chancellor/Vice President Brice also established the UH Board of Visitors and the UH National Development Council — both leadership volunteer boards that advise and represent the University in the Houston community. Under her guidance, the UH Board of Visitors also collaborates with university leaders to advance top priorities and was impactful in advocating for the Texas University Fund endowment to advance research. She also serves as a board member of the UH Foundation, UH College of Business Foundation and the UH Alumni Association Foundation.

Moreover, VC/VP Brice has continuously strengthened the engagement of alumni through programs such as Giving Day, Cougar 100, Life membership and donor societies.

Since her arrival, VC/VP Brice and her team have raised $2 billion from philanthropy and matching funds for the University of Houston System and created 60 endowed chairs and professorships. She has been awarded the Byron Welch Award for Lifetime Achievement in Fundraising from the Association of Fundraising Professionals for her life-changing contributions to philanthropy.

Words cannot express how incredibly grateful I am for Eloise’s leadership, expertise and commitment to advancing our students and UH System community. She has left an indelible imprint that will be felt for generations to come. Houston is her home so I am sure we will continue to benefit from her friendship and advocacy for the University of Houston System.

Considering that our Centennial Campaign is in full swing, I am appointing Russell Dunlavy to succeed Eloise as the vice chancellor/vice president for advancement and alumni role beginning July 16. He currently serves as senior associate vice president of advancement and alumni, where he has been successfully leading the development staff across UH’s sixteen academic colleges, two university units and centralized teams in Gift and Estate Planning, Corporate Relations and Foundation Relations, among others. Russell has nearly 20 years of experience in higher education fundraising, has been with UH since 2008 and currently serves as major gifts lead for UH’s Centennial Campaign. I’m confident he will continue to elevate UH and the entire UH System to achieve greater student success and national competitiveness, amplifying our role as an engine of social and economic advancement.

Please join me in wishing Eloise well on her well-deserved retirement and Russell congratulations on his new role.

With warm regards,

Renu Khator
Chancellor, University of Houston System