![conference attendees](/sites/default/files/styles/header_default/public/media/image/BLUR_conference_HDRS_1920x1080_guy%20glasses_0.jpg?h=2d9556b8&itok=Yjn0eLfJ)
Faculty
![Jeffrey Schoenherr](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/media/image/Schoenherr%2C%20Jeff.jpg?h=eae2bb55&itok=lMXwxLRf)
Jeffrey Schoenherr
Since 2019, Jeffrey A. Schoenherr has served as the associate vice president of medical and health sciences development for the West Virginia University Foundation. Prior to WVU Foundation, he was assistant vice president for principal gifts at The Ohio State University, vice president of development and alumni relations at Emerson College in Boston, and executive director of development and alumni relations at Harvard Law School. From 2001-2011, Schoenherr worked at John Hopkins University as director of regional and international development and senior associate director of major gifts.
Schoenherr earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan where he started his career working in numerous development, alumni relations, and admissions roles for ten years. He holds advanced certificates from John Hopkins University in Situational Delegation, Excellence in Management: Driving Results, Leadership Development, Enhancing Work Relationships and the Management Track.
Schoenherr is a frequent presenter at professional development conferences sponsored by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and has served many times as a CASE Conference chair and faculty member.
Active in the community, Schoenherr has served as a volunteer and/or on the boards of many organizations including the Boy Scouts of America, United Way of Central Maryland, Delta Chi Fraternity, The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and the Ann Arbor Summer Festival. Schoenherr and his wife, Maria, are the parents of two children.
![Floyd Akins 2024](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/media/image/Akins%20Headshot.jpg?h=53b70d3d&itok=rvjSWNaX)
Floyd Akins
Floyd Akins brings more than 25 years of experience in advancement to his work and serves as Vice President for Advancement at The University of Toledo. He has experience in major and principal gift fundraising, diversity in philanthropy, advancement career counseling and consulting, executive search, advancement organizational structures, and corporate and foundation engagement.
Floyd came to UToledo from Michigan State University, where he served as Associate Vice President for Advancement, overseeing constituent fundraising, individual giving and prospect development, and corporate and foundation engagement. Prior to that, he served as a senior consultant for the Aspen Leadership Group where he executed non-profit executive search and counsel in advancement and fundraising strategies.
As Assistant Vice Chancellor for Development for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, he provided leadership and managerial support for UT’s Regional Major Gift Officers and Corporate and Foundation Engagement Team. He also helped develop the framework for and oversaw the creation of UT’s principal gifts program. He has been a strong advocate for diversity in advancement and higher education at all levels throughout his professional career and was the Co-Chair of UT’s Council for Diversity and Interculturalism.
In his career, Floyd has raised numerous multi-million-dollar gifts and managed staff at institutions in billion-dollar campaigns including at The Ohio State University where he served as Senior Associate Vice President for University Development and Vice President of the OSU Foundation. Prior to that role, he was Assistant Vice President for Principal Gifts at the University of Iowa Foundation. Other positions include Executive Director of Development at Iowa’s Henry B. Tippie College of Business, and Director of the Capital Campaign at Grinnell College where he started his advancement career. In addition to his fundraising positions, he held positions at both Grinnell College and the University of Iowa that included admissions, public relations, and multicultural affairs.
Floyd has been an active faculty member for CASE since 1998 and has chaired numerous conferences on major and principal gift fundraising in both the US and Canada. He received his bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University and his master’s degree from the University of Iowa in Journalism and Mass Communication. Outside of his career in advancement, Floyd was one of the original members and lead vocalist of the band Funkdaddies in Iowa City that opened for the Beach Boys at the Cedar Rapids, Iowa Freedom Festival and celebrated the band’s 20th anniversary in Iowa City in October 2023. He also sang in the gospel choir at St. Dominic Parish in Columbus and was a member and soloist in the Harmony Project in Columbus, a 500-person choir that connects people across social divides through the arts, education, and volunteer community service. In keeping with his passion for the arts and music, Akins is on the board for the Toledo Alliance for Performing Arts (TAPA).
![Jeff Liebermann](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/media/image/Liebermann_Jeffrey.jpg?h=6ead8a73&itok=JnrYubXE)
Jeff Liebermann
Jeff Liebermann is the assistant vice president for main campus development at the University of Iowa Center for Advancement (UICA). In addition to his role as a major gifts officer, he is responsible for overseeing Iowa's fundraising programs in the College of Law, university non-collegiate programs and the regional development team.
He joined the UICA in 1998 as an associate director of development for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), then in 2005 became the executive director of development for CLAS. At Iowa, he has worked through two $1+ billion comprehensive campaigns, including four building projects. Prior to the UICA, he served as the director of alumni programs at the University of Iowa Alumni Association (1995-1998) and the assistant director of alumni relations at the University of Northern Iowa (1989-1995).
Liebermann has a deep background in CASE service, including serving as the chair of the board for CASE V, five years on the faculty of the CASE Summer Institute in Alumni Relations, three years on the CASE V conference committee, participation on numerous CASE conference faculties, and presenting educational sessions at the CASE IV, V and VI conferences. He received the CASE Crystal Apple Award for excellence in teaching in 2016.
He received his bachelor's degree in public relations from Northern Iowa and his master's degree in journalism from Iowa.
![Pamela Witter](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/media/image/Witter_Pamela.jpg?h=6c9445eb&itok=HHd0G0qO)
Pamela Witter
Pamela Witter, BA, MBA, CFRE is a sought-after, nationally-published author, speaker, higher education administrator, and small business owner. The youngest appointee to the President's Executive team, Witter serves as VP for Development and Community Engagement for Trocaire College in Buffalo, NY, but her influence expands far beyond the reach of the region. Her award winning work in fundraising, marketing, and leading high performance teams commands international attention.
Witter was featured recently in Advancing Philanthropy Magazine (a global publication of the Association of Fundraising Professionals) in a column on discovering your personal best leadership and serves as a regular columnist for AFP Global. In an interview with the Chronicle of Philanthropy, she contributed to a special insert entitled Fixing the College Fundraising Crunch, and her book Five Strategies to Increase Annual Fund Revenue was highlighted in the national Wiley Journal "Fundraising Success." Witter has raised millions of dollars for non-profit missions. She has inspired staff to smash through marketing metrics and coached best-in-class teams.
![Katie Acuff](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/media/image/Acuff_Katie.jpg?h=6fc02286&itok=83PUch6q)
Katie Acuff
Katie Acuff earned a bachelor's degree in international economics and finance from the Catholic University of America. As a senior in college, she served as a member of the president's staff and was identified for a position in the annual fund office upon graduation. While working full time, she earned her Juris Doctorate in the evening program at CUA's Columbus School of Law. After climbing the ranks in the annual fund office and finishing her law degree, she eventually worked in a major gifts role.
In 2010, Tulane University—then rebuilding its development operation post-Katrina—recruited Acuff to serve as the senior director of development for its undergraduate college. In 2013, she became director of principal gifts and was named an associate vice president shortly before Tulane publicly launched its comprehensive, $1.3B "Only the Audacious: The Campaign for an Ever Bolder Tulane" in 2018. In her role, she oversees the strategic pursuit of principal gifts across the university, prioritizes the development work of the president and other senior university officials, and maintains her own frontline portfolio. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in business administration at Tulane.
![Walter Kimbrough](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/media/image/Kimbrough_Walter_M_Headshots.jpg?h=60612847&itok=T5iLmYiM)
Walter Kimbrough
A native of Atlanta, Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough was his high school salutatorian and student body president in 1985, and went on to earn degrees from the University of Georgia, Miami University in Ohio, and a doctorate in higher education from Georgia State University. He has enjoyed a fulfilling career in student affairs, serving at Emory University, Georgia State University, Old Dominion University, and finally Albany State University in 2000 where he became the Vice President for Student Affairs at the age of 32. In October of 2004, at the age of 37, he was named the 12th president of Philander Smith College. In 2012 he became the 7th president of Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana.
![Caleb Roberts](/sites/default/files/styles/portrait/public/media/image/Roberts_Caleb_2019.jpg?h=56f02011&itok=0MCRllKY)
Caleb Roberts
Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Caleb has worked at Tulane University since 2012. He began his Tulane career as a development officer at the Law School before working on the regional major gifts team focusing on Southern California and Florida. In 2017, he became senior director of development at the A. B. Freeman School of Business. Prior to Tulane, he lived in Richmond, Virginia working as a development officer for the Sigma Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation. Caleb holds a bachelor degree in Corporate Communications from Austin Peay State University. He also holds a Master of Arts in English from Tulane University. Caleb currently sits on the boards of Young Leadership Council and The NOCCA Institute.