EUREKA – Following a national search, Eureka College announced on Thursday that Josem Diaz has been named Eureka College Vice President of Advancement.

Diaz, who has over 15 years of experience in development, strategic planning, campaign management and leadership, comes to Eureka College from Yeshiva University (N.Y.), where he served as the Assistant Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Business Operations.

For the past three years, he has been responsible for advancing Yeshiva’s financial, capital, and academic growth by strengthening and expanding the institutional constituency, encouraging increased involvement and support. He has also facilitated and led development strategies, working closely with the president, board of trustees, provost and deans to leverage philanthropic momentum, attract new sources of funding and deepen existing relationships.

Additionally, Diaz has been a member of the Upper Iowa University Board of Trustees since 2017, and currently serves as the board’s chair for academic affairs, the chair for student affairs and athletics, and is a member of both the governance and development committees.

“We are thrilled to welcome someone of Josem’s caliber, experience, and proven success to lead our Advancement efforts," said Eureka College President Dr. Jamel Wright. "Josem has a strong leadership and fundraising profile and brings great knowledge of higher education as well as sound ideas for the future of Advancement that make him a valuable partner in developing and implementing the strategic vision that will lead to the College’s future success.”  

At Eureka, Diaz will serve as the Chief Development Officer with executive leadership responsibility for the management of all advancement staff and programs, including the annual fund, the Reagan Forward Initiative (including the Ronald W. Reagan Society), major gift development, corporate and foundation support, planned giving, grants, and alumni relations.

Diaz’s first day ‘neath the elms will be Feb. 1, 2021. That’s when he’ll officially take the reins, replacing Mike Murtagh, who stepped down from the position last year after 11 years of service to begin phased retirement and currently serves as the Senior Advancement Officer and Special Adviser to the President.

“I look forward to working with President Wright and becoming a member of the Eureka College family, and to serve during this remarkable time in its history,” Diaz said. “Eureka College is positioned to achieve new levels of philanthropic success while engaging its community of alumni, parents and friends.”

Prior to joining Yeshiva University, Diaz served as Assistant VP of Advancement and Operations at American University, Washington D.C, where he led the campaign readiness assessment for AU's transformational campaign, the onboarding of a new President, and the first CRM Advance implementation.

Diaz also formerly served as Upper Iowa University’s Executive Director for Institutional Advancement & Alumni Relations. Under Diaz’s tenure at UIU, he made significant strides in improving processes, data integrity, and reporting within the Office of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Development. He provided outstanding leadership in the areas of annual giving, donor cultivation and stewardship, database management, and gift processing. As a major gift officer, Diaz raised $3.75M during one fiscal year and led the Advancement strategic planning process.

In addition to Diaz’s previous leadership roles in development, he has also served in community affairs at Nova Southeastern University, in banking, and law enforcement before that. 

Diaz is a Miami Beach, Florida native, and currently resides in Manhattan, New York. 

He received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and forensic psychology from Nova Southeastern University and expects to receive his master’s for public administration from Baruch College next year.