The college fired more than half of the current employees in the Office of Institutional Advancement to make way for a new Department of Development.

President Kwang-Wu Kim announced the terminations and restructuring in a Feb. 28 email to college staff and faculty. The new Department of Development will replace the current division of Institutional Advancement, which is the office responsible for fundraising and creating and maintaining connections in the community.

In the email, Kim said the need for the new department required the termination of seven Institutional Advancement employees to make way for an undetermined number of new positions. The department will see new positions and a new mission statement geared toward attracting more donations to the college. According to the college directory, there were only 13 employees in the Office of Institutional Advancement prior to the firing.

The announcement comes a month after the Jan. 27 resignation of Patrick Sheahan, former vice president of Institutional Advancement, after he held the position for only four months, as reported Jan. 27 by The Chronicle.

The statement said Kim and Warren Chapman, senior vice president and interim vice president of Institutional Advancement, will immediately launch a national search to identify a vice president for the Department of Development. Chapman will continue to lead the remaining staff of Institutional Advancement while the college assembles a new staff, according to the email. Kim and Chapman did not return requests for comment on the changes or terminations as of press time, nor did Michael Anderson, associate vice president of Institutional Advancement.

Diane Doyne, associate vice president of Marketing & Communications, also declined to comment, citing a college-wide policy prohibiting administrators from discussing personnel issues. She declined to identify the employees who were terminated.

“As in most transitions, there are difficult choices,” Kim wrote. “This reorganization has resulted in the separation of seven college employees and a realignment of responsibilities for others. We thank those employees who are leaving for their service to the college and wish them well in their future endeavors.”