Financier McDonald '83 hits stride as V.P. for Development

Although Brian McDonald '83 graduated from the University nearly 20 years ago, he has never been very far away. A steadfast volunteer to his alma mater and the University's vice president for development, McDonald says he considers himself a member of the Princeton family. Yet he has also dabbled in a myriad of professions that touch upon his diverse interests as an entrepreneur, financier and artist.

Last December, President Tilghman appointed McDonald to the office of vice president of development, a post he assumed on Jan. 2, 2002.

"I'd like to think I brought a fresh look — a different pair of eyes," McDonald said.

As the University's chief financial officer, he is responsible for planning and directing all fundraising activities, with particular interest in soliciting donations from private sources. The affluence and generosity of the University's 78,000 alumni make them an attractive target for fundraising endeavors, he said.

However, unlike his predecessors, McDonald said he hopes to attract benefactors beyond the usual alumni and parents. He says that he is convinced that if the development office presents organizations and individuals with reasons for supporting the University's educational resources and research opportunities, these people would be receptive. However he admits these tactics could "benefit from a little creative thinking."

Using his own creative thinking, McDonald has already made an impact during his first year in office. Over the summer, he led a strategic planning process in which the 120 members of the development staff generated 200 ideas to improve their efficiency in fundraising. The top two dozen strategies will be employed, McDonald said.

More importantly, though, this process and other reorganization measures McDonald has implemented have made daily operations much smoother, he said.

"There is a much greater focus on teamwork and collaboration," he said. "I think we've made most of the major changes and now we plan to strategically add new staff members and have fun doing it."

While McDonald is no stranger to the world of finance, before he assumed his current post, most of his service to the University was voluntary. He has served, for example, as the volunteer chair of Princeton's National Annual Giving Committee, the special gifts chair for the class of '83's 10th and 15th reunion and chair of the Challenge 2000 Committee, which encouraged younger alumni to participate in the 250th Anniversary Campaign.

In 1998, the University recognized McDonald's commitment to service by presenting him with the Class of 1983 service award, making him the first member of his class to receive this honor.

The service McDonald has demonstrated after graduating has not come without precedence. McDonald participated in an array of extracurricular activities while attending the University. An athlete and scholar, he swam for the varsity swim team and served as a member of the Honor Committee, treasurer of Ivy Club and class president.

Yet, McDonald never participated in any of the dance troupes or theater groups, he said. While he greatly admired the arts, he had never been trained to express his own creativity in any way.

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"Growing up the creative pursuits weren't highly valued in my family," he said. "I never thought I'd be able to do any of those fun things."

The performing arts he witnessed as an undergraduate sparked a curiosity in McDonald that would never fully be extinguished.

Despite his reluctant abstinence from the arts, he had experienced many aspects of the University by the time he left with a degree in history in 1983.

In the years between his departure from the University and his return last year, McDonald followed an eccentric career path full of surprises.

His first two jobs capitalized on his talent for finance. While working at the First Boston Corporation as an analyst, he had his earliest experience with soliciting funds from the private sector, as well as directing many administrative and analytic teams. The seeds of leadership and finance had been sown, but McDonald's professional trajectory took an unexpected turn.

After four years in I-banking, McDonald said he wanted a drastic change of pace. In a move he now calls "foolish," he opened Trixies, a circus themed restaurant in New York City. The orange and black sign outside paid homage to McDonald's alma mater.

"It was a pretty crazy place," McDonald said of the restaurant, which has since closed. During his two years in the restaurant business, he met many musicians and recording artists who inspired him to further explore his own creative tendencies.

"I started to wish I could express myself creatively," he said. "I had a lot of creative energy and no outlet."

And so, the McDonald Group was born. An agency that produced several NYC-based songwriters, as well as managing many visual artists, the group further stirred the inner artist in McDonald.

"I miss the time in the studio with the musicians — creating the music, recording the music," he said. "That's the fun part. That's the wonderful part."

Yet after four years, McDonald tired of the constant strain of finding venues for his bands to play in, getting bands contracts and working with the pretentious "music business types." He and his wife, Leah, decided to settle down and start a family.

"We thought Princeton would be a great place to settle down, have a yard," he said.

During his first year back in Princeton, McDonald began to explore another mode of artistic expression: the novel. The book, however, remains unfinished.

"That was fascinating and wonderful. And I have a stack of pages at home that will hopefully see light again," he said.

Before he could finish the book, a greater passion seized him. Having become "fascinated" with the tools construction workers were using to restore his house, McDonald decided to become a sculptor. Finally, he had found his creative outlet. He still loves to sculpt in his free time, especially with wood, he says.

While delving into the sculpting life, the McDonald's realized their longtime dream of parenthood. They have a daughter Campbell, 6, and a son Eamonn, 4. A third child will join the family around the New Year.

McDonald said he considers himself a family man. He said he enjoys outdoor activities with his wife and children, including playing in last week's freshly fallen snow.

"I'm positive we built the two biggest snowmen in our neighborhood yesterday," he said proudly.

McDonald and his wife Leah make Princeton a very big part of their family's life. They frequently bring their children to play on the many sculptures around campus and to watch the P-rade and some athletic events.

Even though he has a family of his own, McDonald said he will always consider himself a part of the Princeton family. After his parents' divorce during his freshmen year, the University's faculty and students who saw him through became his source of strength and knowledge.

McDonald says that he still vividly remembers the teachers he had here and some of the inspiring classes he took. CEE102: Engineering in the Modern World with David Billington, and HIS 367: English Constitutional History with William Jordan stand out in his mind, he said. He credits the "classic liberal arts education" he received at the University for providing him with the well-rounded thinking skills he continues to use today.

Stemming from his undergraduate experience at the University, McDonald says that the greatest single driving force in his life has been "to appreciate the joy of the wonders of learning throughout a lifetime."