Kathleen de la Torre named WCU’s assistant vice chancellor for development
By Bill Studenc
Kathleen de la Torre, director of development for the College of Health and Human Sciences at Western Carolina University, has been promoted to the role of assistant vice chancellor for development.
Announcement of de la Torre’s appointment, effective Monday, Dec. 2, was made Tuesday, Nov. 26, by Ben Pendry, WCU vice chancellor for advancement.
“Kathleen emerged from an extremely competitive search process guided by a campuswide committee,” Pendry said. “She has established herself as a trusted colleague and leader within the Division of Advancement, and she has a proven commitment to this institution and its mission of serving our students and Western North Carolina as a preeminent regional comprehensive university.”
In her new position, de la Torre will play a leadership role in the successful completion of the “Fill the Western Sky” comprehensive fundraising campaign. The campaign will enter its public phase in early 2025 with a focus on securing philanthropic support for long-overdue improvements to facilities used by WCU student-athletes and increasing membership in the Catamount Club.
She will directly supervise the senior director of development, director of donor relations and director of prospect management and research and, through the senior director of development, will indirectly supervise a team of unit-based directors of development.
In partnership with Pendry and development officers for WCU’s various colleges, de la Torre will oversee creation of fundraising strategies for increasing the base of philanthropic support for the entire university. She will be responsible for the management and direction of the operations and programs of WCU’s fundraising efforts, including the full span of the donor cycle from prospect management data, qualification, cultivation and solicitation to stewardship and donor relations programming.
Director of development for WCU’s College of Health and Human Sciences since August 2023, de la Torre previously worked at The Cindy Platt Boys & Girls Club of Transylvania County in Brevard from 2015 until 2022. There, her roles included resource development director, manager of a $7.5 million capital campaign and finance director.
Before joining the Boys & Girls Club of Transylvania County, de la Torre served in various positions at Transylvania Regional Hospital and at Wachovia Bank.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and anthropology from Wake Forest University in 1993, graduating summa cum laude (with highest honors), and her master’s degree in business administration from WCU in 2023.
“My life and career experiences have given me a road map for this position,” de la Torre said. “I have broad experience leading a team through growth and setting a foundation while thinking strategically about the years ahead. I have budgeted, analyzed and managed. I have trained, taught and learned. I have been at the table when hard decisions were made and freely shared my perspective, my analysis, my concerns, my advice and ultimately my support. I hope I can contribute to my alma mater’s continued success by doing more for WCU, and I am eager to do so in this new role.”
For more information about the “Fill the Western Sky” campaign or to make a contribution, visit WesternSky.wcu.edu, call 828-227-7124 or email advancement@wcu.edu.
