New Alumni Director Returns to the Rock

Don’t call it a comeback — when Caroline Campbell took over the position of director of alumni relations at Rockhurst University in May, it marked a return to more than just Jesuit education (she’s a graduate of Marquette University) — it’s also a chance to come back to an institution with which she is very familiar.

Campbell, who most recently was development events coordinator at KCUR FM, Kansas City’s National Public Radio affiliate, served in the Rockhurst University Office of Admission from 2015 to 2018 as an admission counselor, a role that included planning admission events and serving as the student ambassador advisor.

In other words, she knows the University well, and she said she’s happy to return to this environment in a new role, now serving the broader Hawk family on the other side of the University experience.

“Nothing compares to the campus community here,” she said. “It is particularly exciting to know that the students I worked with in their admissions process are (almost all) now young alumni. I’m looking forward to connecting with them and others in this new phase of their relationship to RU.”

In her new role, Campbell will lead the alumni relations team in planning and presenting events throughout the year, including large events such as Family and Alumni Weekend and Hawk Walk, and oversee the continuing efforts to keep Hawks connected through groups such as the Young Alumni Council and regional alumni chapters. Campbell brings years of event planning, development, constituent engagement and fundraising experience to the job. And as a Kansas City native; a Marquette University graduate; and an alumna of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps program, with which she spent a year teaching sixth grade in Brooklyn, New York, she also brings an understanding of and first-hand appreciation for how transformative a Jesuit education can be.

“Through my own Jesuit education and service, at Marquette and with JVC and Rockhurst, my relationship with Ignatian values has deepened and changed over the years,” she said. “I find so much guidance and comfort in them — to me, they serve as a guidebook for living a meaningful and compassionate life. Knowing that I am working alongside people who share those values as part of a university founded on them brings me a great sense of alignment and purpose.”

Campbell takes over for Brent Blazek, '17 MBA, who this year was named associate athletic director for development and engagement and will lead fundraising and development for Rockhurst athletics.