Veteran development officer Kerry Toolan has joined the LMU School of Education as director of development to lead the school’s fundraising activities in support of its mission to transform classrooms, districts and communities.
Toolan joins the School of Education from the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles where she was responsible for a $20 million capital campaign to build a new YMCA facility on the campus of University High School in Los Angeles. She was previously director of development for dance at The Music Center and director of development at Claremont Graduate University. Earlier in her career, she served in development leadership positions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and KCSN public radio station. She currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the School of Arts and Humanities at Claremont Graduate University and is a committee member for the non-profit, The Unusual Suspects.
At the School of Education, her development efforts will focus on supporting student scholarships and academic programs, growing research opportunities, fostering innovative partnerships and building relationships with alumni and friends of the university.
One current initiative is the LMU Scholarship Initiative, launched by President David W. Burcham to raise $100 million over the next three years – funds that will be strictly needs-based scholarship aid. LMU has a long tradition of reaching out to students from diverse cultures and backgrounds, regardless of means. Despite the university’s efforts to implement budget cuts and direct a higher proportion of the operating budget to student aid, the costs of higher education continue to rise. Many of the best students are unable to cover the full expense of an LMU degree, even with student aid.
Support through the Scholarship Initiative will provide School of Education students an affordable and accessible pathway to live out their dreams without the burden of repaying mounting student debt. It will allow the SOE to select students from the widest possible pool of applicants regardless of need, ensuring a diverse student body and a rich learning environment that mirrors the diversity of the PreK-12 classrooms and communities we serve throughout California. Most importantly, it gives more students the opportunity to pursue an SOE degree and make a difference in the lives of children.
