From: David Palmer, Vice-President, Advancement
Date: March 11, 2022
Re: Announcement of Mary Williams as Assistant Vice President, Divisional Relations, University Advancement

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Mary Williams as Assistant Vice-President, Divisional Relations, University Advancement, effective May 2022.

One of this country’s most admired advancement leaders, Mary Williams has 30+ years of experience as an advancement executive in increasingly senior positions at McMaster University. In her current role as the Vice-President, University Advancement at McMaster University, a position she has held for the past 11 years, she is responsible for fundraising, alumni relations, government relations, and institutional marketing and communications. She has demonstrated significant success in leading transformational growth at McMaster and securing transformative gifts. She is known as a talented, inclusive, and principled leader, with an excellent track record of developing and mentoring staff and teams and managing senior volunteers and donors. She brings a wealth of successful advancement experience to the role. 

The Assistant Vice-President (AVP) Divisional Relations provides leadership, strategic direction, and support to enable the success of campus, divisional, and college advancement teams and to help them reach and exceed their fundraising and campaign goals. In addition to providing leadership to the DUA’s divisional relations portfolio, the AVP, Divisional Relations also oversees a number of critical functions that support divisional success, including major gifts, volunteer management, prospect management, advancement research, organizational development, business planning, and performance management. In this capacity, the AVP, Divisional Relations will work closely with academic and advancement leaders across our three campuses, and with their teams, to advise on and instill best practices and to advance fundraising performance broadly. 

Mary holds an Hon. Bachelor of Physical and Health Education (now known as Kinesiology) from McMaster University and a Masters in Public Administration from Queen’s University. She has been a very active volunteer within the advancement profession and within both national and Hamilton-based organizations, having served or serving as President of the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education, Board member of YMCA Canada, Chair of the Board of Hamilton-Burlington-Brantford YMCA, and board member of Ronald McDonald House Hamilton, Hamilton District Health Council, and Hamilton YWCA, among others. 

We are thrilled to be able to share this appointment with the University community. Please join me in welcoming Mary upon her arrival in May.