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UNC-Chapel Hill’s top fundraising official will depart next month for a similar job at Columbia University, the schools announced Wednesday.
Mike Andreasen, who has been vice chancellor for development at UNC-CH since 2023, will start September 15 as vice president for university development and alumni relations at Columbia. He came to UNC-CH from the University of Oregon.
Columbia said Andreasen stood out “from the beginning” in the university’s national search due to his understanding of large higher education institutions, his effective use of university resources, and his “commitment to excellence.” Andreasen announced last week that UNC-CH had completed its second-highest fundraising year on record, raising $606 million in fiscal year 2026.
But his time leading the Office of University Development (UDO) was also marked by a controversial restructuring, announced with little consultation of the university’s deans, that left many fundraisers frustrated. Some employees told The Assembly that they felt the change, which centralized the chief school-based fundraisers into UDO, had hurt the university’s relationships with donors who had long worked with particular deans and their fundraising staff.
An anonymous email sent to development staff last October criticized Andreasen’s leadership and said he had contributed to a toxic work culture and “high school-like” environment, characterized by gossip and favoritism. As of this May, 70 of the roughly 400 development employees across the university had left since Andreasen took the helm, including 25 who left after the restructuring was announced last December. Andreasen told The Assembly he felt badly that someone felt compelled to send the email, but said he wasn’t concerned about turnover in the office.
In a message to development staff announcing his departure, Andreasen touted the fundraising total he announced last week and said it was “rooted in the incredible generosity of our donors.”
“Their vote of confidence in the university ensures that our students, faculty, staff and community directly feel the impact of our collective work,” he wrote.
He also praised the fundraisers who contributed to the effort.
“Equally important, it is not lost on me that these totals represent countless hours of best-in-class professional work by the [development] staff,” he wrote. “Your commitment to each other, to our core mission of expanding the philanthropic impact on campus and to building meaningful relationships with our donors and volunteers is truly an inspiration.”
Leslie Nelson-Bernier, who joined UNC-CH in March as the senior associate vice chancellor of development and previously held top roles with the UNC Health Foundation, will fill Andreasen’s role on an interim basis. Wednesday’s announcement did not include details about a search for a permanent replacement.
Tori Newby contributed reporting.
