
Chapter 01: The Development Office in the Eighties
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Description
Mr. Mulvey recounts how he came to MD Anderson in 1985 as an Assistant Director of Development Services. He then describes the Office of Development and its operation under institution president, Charles A. LeMaistre, MD [Oral History Interview].
Mr. Mulvey explains how development became a more significant factor in MD Anderson’s growth at that time, leading Dr. LeMaistre to provide support and resources for the Office’s growth. He describes the two issues of focus for fundraising at that time: patient care and cancer prevention. He describes the first major comprehensive campaign, the Fulfill the Promise Campaign, and the increased targets for fundraising that resulted.
Identifier
MulveyP_01_20150511_C01
Publication Date
5-11-2015
City
Houston, Texas
Interview Session
Topics Covered
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center - An Institutional Unit; MD Anderson History; MD Anderson Culture; Professional Path; Joining MD Anderson; Overview; On Philanthropy and Volunteerism; Donations, Gifts, Contributions; Portraits
Transcript
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
All right, the counter is moving. I’m Tacey Ann Rosolowski, and today is—oh, my goodness—the 13th of May, 2015.
Patrick Mulvey:
I think it’s the 11th.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Is it? The 11th of May—it is. I don’t know how I lost two days in the week. I’m glad I have them back.
Patrick Mulvey:
Time goes by fast.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
[laughs] It does. I’m glad I have them back. Today is May 11th, 2015, and the time is about 3:08. And I am in the Office of Development in the Fannin/Holcombe Building on the main campus of MD Anderson. And today I’m interviewing Mr. Patrick Mulvey for the Making Cancer History® Voices Oral History Project, run by the Historical Resources Center at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Mr. Mulvey came to MD Anderson in 1985, as an assistant director of development services. Today he is vice president for development, a role he has served since the year 2000. This session is being held in a conference room in the Office of Development, and this is the first of three planned interview sessions. So, I wanted to thank you for participating in our project.
Patrick Mulvey:
You’re welcome.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
All right. And I wanted to start, if it’s all right with you, with your role in development, or how you came to work in development when you were working at St. Thomas University. Can I ask you about that?
Patrick Mulvey:
I came here in October of 1985 as an assistant director for development services, after a thirteen year stint with the University of St. Thomas. And after thirteen years of St. Thomas, it seemed like it was the time to look elsewhere. And I had heard about this position, and applied for it.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Can I ask you, during your time—because, I mean, one of the things that struck me when I was looking at your background information is that you did development in an academic institution, and then you switched to another academic institution. Is there something about development—did that experience in St. Thomas, as an academic institution, help prepare you for the role here?
Patrick Mulvey:
Well, at St. Thomas—I would consider St. Thomas—University of St. Thomas as an academic institution, from a development side of the coin. I would consider MD Anderson as a health-related—
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Okay.
Patrick Mulvey:
—institution. Of course, it’s academic. I understand that. But its mission is health versus education—
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Okay.
Patrick Mulvey:
—in the greater sense of the word. And my role at St. Thomas was not so much to raise funds there. But I was associated with the need to raise funds as the dean of student affairs there, with the student affairs committee of—its board, that needed to go out and raise $4 million at that time, to create what’s now known as the Jerabeck Athletic Center. And so, I worked closely with the Development Office in those plans and things of that sort. But my role was not to raise funds there. But I was actually introduced to that type of activity, that type of profession, which intrigued me. And then, when this opportunity came available, I took it.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
What did you—what was it that intrigued you about fundraising? What was it that you felt that role enabled you to do for an institution?
Patrick Mulvey:
Well, it’s to serve mankind. It’s to identify the needs of the institution and the wishes of an individual who might want to donate to that institution, and make those needs possible.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
How did you hear about the role at MD Anderson?
Patrick Mulvey:
You know, that was a long time ago. [laughter] That was a long time ago, and I don’t specifically remember. Probably somebody within our professional organizations talked about it, would be my guess on that.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Mm-hmm. And tell me about that process of coming to MD Anderson, learning about it, learning more about what the role would entail.
Patrick Mulvey:
Well, it’s like applying to any state institution. You gotta go through human resources and go through a number of interviews to see if you were a worth candidate for that position. And then, after we got through all the human-resource issues, then came over and interviewed with the director of development at that time. And—
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Who was that?
Patrick Mulvey:
That was a lady by the name of Andrea Morgan. And then we eventually received a phone call saying that they wanted to offer me the position, which I accepted.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Mm-hmm. And what did that role entail, when you came in?
Patrick Mulvey:
Oversight of all development-services activities, which is receiving gifts, acknowledging gifts, grant writing, proposal writing—things of that sort, and all the services that go along with it.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Mm-hmm. And who was institution president at that time?
Patrick Mulvey:
Dr. [Charles A.] LeMaistre.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Dr. LeMaistre. And what—one of the topics that I want to explore with you is just how different MD Anderson presidents have had—have integrated development into their vision of the institution differently. So, what was Dr. LeMaistre’s vision of what development could do, and how did he rely on the Development Office, at that time, to meet those goals?
Patrick Mulvey:
Well, back in the 1980s, fundraising—for many state institutions, especially in the South—was somewhat of a new phenomenon, unlike the Northeast and what have you, where they’ve been doing things for many, many times. And as a state institution, MD Anderson, as I understand it under Dr. [R. Lee] Clark, and somewhat under Dr. LeMaistre, you now, really heavily dependent on the state appropriation. But as the state appropriation began to decline, or not become as large a percentage of the operating budget, over the years it became obvious that development fundraising—private philanthropy—would play an important role in the institution’s being able to carry out its mission. And Dr. LeMaistre understood that very well, coming from the Chancellor’s Office and coming from the University of Texas, and began to build a team here that, fortunately, involved me, to really create the foundations that we then built from, to make it what it is today. He was clearly a superb fundraising CEO [chief executive officer].
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Was he?
Patrick Mulvey:
Mm-hmm.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Mm-hmm. I’ve heard it said that he was sort of an ambassador kind of president, you know? That he was really good at making connections.
Patrick Mulvey:
He was superb, at all of the above.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Mm-hmm. So tell me more about the Development Office at that time. You know, how big was it? You know, what was the scope of—you know, what—how—what was the team like, and then, what was it going to be, in those early years?
Patrick Mulvey:
You know, in those early years, we were on the ninth floor of the Houston Main Building. We took up a—I don’t even know if it was a half a floor. Maybe a little bit less than that. There was, perhaps, as many as twelve people in the office. I think it was more of a—it was more of an annual-fund type of program versus major gifts, if you will. And, you know, it was a quite-young office that was making its way. And probably back in the ‘80s—mid-’80s—it was raising, perhaps, $9-10 million dollars a year in that time, with 30—maybe 30,000 gifts, if that many. I can’t remember the number of gifts. But it was a young organization.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Mm-hmm. Now, I was talking to Stephanie Fulton, the director of the library, just before I came over here. And, you know—and we were remarking, you know, the world of development is just so different from the world of the library. You know, like, you do different things. And one of the things that we were very interested in is how do you go about doing what you do? You know, how—so how did this young office and this young, growing teen, set about turning itself into a well-organized force in the institution?
Patrick Mulvey:
Well, you know, it all circles and revolves around a strategic vision of the institution. And then, development business plans come out of that. So, working closely with the administration to identify what the strategic plan is; what its needs are relative to philanthropy, to achieve that strategic vision; and then developing a program to secure those funds, is the way that we went about it over all of those years. And we continued to do that on a very regular basis under all the presidents we have served.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
What was Dr. LeMaistre’s strategic plan?
Patrick Mulvey:
I believe—I believe that, if one was to characterize him, was—he was a strong patient-care advocate, and also a strong—and actually the pioneer for cancer prevention. And those two themes were strong in his strategic vision. He didn’t ignore the research, and it continued to grow underneath him. But I believe that the emphasis was in those two areas.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Mm-hmm. And so, how did you take that as a mandate for your activities?
Patrick Mulvey:
Well, he saw the need for expansion. He saw the need for outpatient care. He saw the need for prevention. And he saw the need for the research and education in those areas—not necessarily in all those orders. And, in fact, under his leadership we conducted probably the first major comprehensive campaign of the institution, certainly since the early ’70s. And that was the “Fulfill the Promise” campaign. And if you take a look at that campaign, and you take a look at the funding objectives within that campaign, I think it very clearly tells you what his strategic vision was for the institution, which was outpatient care, cancer prevention, education, and research.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Mm-hmm. And what were the results of that particular campaign? And how long did the campaign last?
Patrick Mulvey:
It was designed to go five years and raise $151 million. And it raised more than that. It was a focused campaign, meaning that that $151 million went to very specific objectives. We made a commitment to the faculty at that time to continue to raise funds outside of the campaign, and the $151 million was raised actually in two and a half years, rather than five years. And over that time period we actually raised another $90-100 million for other needs. So, about a quarter of a billion dollars was raised in that two-and-a-half to three-year period, for focused-campaign needs as well as general faculty needs.
Tacey A. Rosolowski, PhD:
Mm-hmm. And when you say “general faculty needs,” what would come in under that heading?
Patrick Mulvey:
Any type of disease-site needs, any type of research-program needs, some endowment, and some education programs.
Recommended Citation
Mulvey, Patrick and Rosolowski, Tacey A. PhD, "Chapter 01: The Development Office in the Eighties" (2015). Interview Chapters. 1187.
https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewchapters/1187
Conditions Governing Access
Open
