State funding has put Fort Lewis College on a long and potentially winding road to reconstruction of Berndt Hall, home to its geosciences, physics and engineering programs.
But uncertainty about the availability of ongoing state or federal money has prompted FLC to look to private sources to ensure completion of the project, worth slightly more than $35 million.
To that end, the college has hired three people to mine the private sector, including alumni, for funds. They are a vice president for advancement, Mark Jastorff, and gift officers Sarah Pretzer and Andy Miller.
The FLC human-resources department, in response to a written request, said Jastorff will earn $130,000 a year. Pretzer and Miller will be paid $62,000 each.
Jastorff, vice president for advancement, will lead the effort. He has more than 30 years in higher education, most recently as executive director of the Metropolitan State University of Denver Alumni Association.
Pretzer was most recently at the Community College of Aurora Foundation. Overseeing capital campaigns there, she will work from the FLC campus.
Miller, an FLC alumnus, will be based on the Front Range, where thousands of FLC graduates live and/or work. He has done fundraising in the for-profit and nonprofit fields and comes to FLC from the University of Wyoming Foundation.
FLC had a vice president for advancement during the tenure of former college president Brad Bartel about 10 years ago. The position was not filled when the vice president left for another job.
The general collapse of the economy that started in late 2007 raised concern about continuing funding for projects.
daler@durangoherald.com
