Major gifts director to join Caltech

June Thames Poust has been appointed the new director of principal and major gifts in Caltech’s Office of Development, the organization in charge of the Institute’s fund-raising activities. She will join the development team in late March.

“We are pleased that June Poust has decided to come to Caltech,” said William Jenkins, executive vice president for administration. “She not only has significant major gift experience, but also recently has been a key leader in a substantial capital campaign. In addition to her campaign experience, June’s energy and focus will be a great asset to Caltech.”

Bob O’Rourke, vice president for public relations and interim vice president for development and alumni relations, said, “June Poust brings to the Institute a long and distinguished career in fund-raising in the Chicago area, and her success with a major campaign bodes well for fund-raising efforts at Caltech.”

The director of major gifts at the Illinois Institute of Technology since 1998, Poust directed and managed a $250 million university-wide campaign for facilities and scholarship endowment. She had previously headed her own consulting firm for nonprofit fund-raising and marketing, served as director of development for the Schools of Music and Speech at Northwestern University, and been a development officer at both the Newberry Library and the Field Museum of Natural History.

“It is a privilege to become a member of the Caltech community,” Poust said. Noting the beauty of the campus, the quality of the student body, and the outstanding reputation of the Institute’s
faculty, she added that she is “looking forward to advancing the mission of Caltech at this important time in its history.”
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