Rhode Island School of Design Names Amanda Clark MacMullan New Vice President for Institutional Advancement

PROVIDENCE, RI – January 8, 2023 – Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is pleased to announce the appointment of Amanda Clark MacMullan as vice president for Institutional Advancement, effective February 1, 2024. Clark MacMullan, who currently serves as senior vice president of programs & external affairs at the Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS), brings more than 20 years of extensive fundraising experience in higher education, arts and culture.

“We are thrilled to have Amanda join the RISD community. During our search process, I was struck by her fundraising expertise as well as her enthusiasm for our mission,” notes RISD President Crystal Williams. “Amanda has strong experience closing six- to eight-figure gifts, and supporting university presidents, trustees and deans, as well as curatorial staff at museums. Her emphasis on team building and empowering smart, talented professionals to be proactive and autonomous, alongside her collaborative approach and broad familiarity with higher education and the arts gave us confidence that she will help RISD build and elevate a culture of philanthropy that will continue to support the next generation of RISD artists, designers and thinkers.”

In addition to working to substantially increase philanthropic revenue at the MHS, Clark MacMullan oversees a broad portfolio that includes communications, education, research, programs and exhibitions. Prior to her work at the MHS, she served as chief philanthropy officer for the Peabody Essex Museum where she completed a $650 million campaign, grew the value of the museum’s endowment and was responsible for securing some of the largest gifts to the institution. Before her tenure at the Peabody Essex Museum, Clark MacMullan worked with a number of institutions as a fundraiser and philanthropic strategist, including as chief development officer for New Profit, director of major and leadership gifts for Boston University, philanthropic advisor and regional director for Massachusetts Institute of Technology and associate director of major gifts for Harvard Law School.

Clark MacMullan holds an MA from Columbia University and a BA from Bowdoin College. In addition, she completed Yale University’s teacher preparation program for public school teaching certification.

“I am thrilled to join RISD’s dynamic community at this pivotal moment as the institution approaches its 150th anniversary with a visionary new president,” notes Clark MacMullan. “The innovation, creativity and critical thinking fostered at RISD are qualities so needed in the world today. I look forward to supporting the institution in this work.”

RISD seeks to achieve ambitious goals – including ensuring that the most promising students are able to attend RISD and thrive, regardless of resources – and fundraising is critical to the institution's success. As the chief philanthropic officer, Clark MacMullan is poised to play a transformational role, bringing creativity and innovation to all engagement efforts, and involving students, alumni, faculty, staff, trustees and the wider community in this endeavor.

Clark MacMullan succeeds O’Neil Outar, who served as vice president for Institutional Advancement from January 2018 through October 2023.

About Rhode Island School of Design
RISD (pronounced “RIZ-dee”) is a creative community founded in 1877 in Providence, Rhode Island. Today, we enroll 2,567 students hailing from 60 countries. Led by a committed faculty, they are engaged in 44 full-time bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and supported by a worldwide network of over 31,000 alumni who demonstrate the vital role artists and designers play in today’s society.

Beyond facts and figures, what is the spirit of this community? Through a cross-disciplinary curriculum of studio-based learning and rigorous study in the liberal arts, RISD students are encouraged to develop their own personal creative processes, but they are united by one guiding principle: in order to create, one must question. In cultivating expansive and elastic thinking, RISD seeks to activate a critical exchange that empowers artists, designers and scholars to generate and challenge the ideas that shape our world. RISD’s mission, at both the college and museum, is not only to educate students and the public in the creation and appreciation of works of art and design, but to transmit that knowledge and make global contributions. Visit risd.edu to learn more.

Contact:
Jaime Marland
Senior Director, Public Relations / RISD
jmarland@risd.edu
401 427-6954