Gene Schutt, College Foundation President and Leader of Key A&S Fundraising Initiatives, Transitions to New Role

For nearly 16 years, College Foundation president Gene Schutt has worked closely with Arts & Sciences deans and their leadership teams, engaging and inspiring University of Virginia alumni, parents and other donors to support the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences’ most important educational initiatives of the last two decades.

Completion of the South Lawn project, the 2019 launch of the Engagements and the new curriculum, the building of the Democracy Initiative, the Faculty Forward campaign to recruit and retain top faculty, and the ongoing Graduate Excellence campaign in support of the Graduate School, and other major A&S initiatives all benefited from Schutt’s leadership and the Foundation’s fundraising efforts.

Schutt will transition to a new role at the Foundation in July, advising incoming president Matt Erskine while continuing to serve as principal gift officer, maintaining relationships with the Foundation’s most dedicated emeritus trustees to support Arts & Sciences’ fundraising efforts. Earlier this month, at the College Foundation’s Board of Trustees meeting, board members, A&S leaders and UVA President Jim Ryan honored Schutt with a celebration that included the surprise announcement of the newly created Eugene R. Schutt endowment for continued philanthropic support of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

“Gene played the most important role in my entry to the UVA community, my understanding of the place, its definitive features that stretch across generations and around the globe and its distinctive possibilities,” said Christa Acampora, Buckner Clay Professor of Philosophy and Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. “It is because of Gene that I was able to make important connections and meet so many of our devoted alumni so that I could build relationships, learn about their stories and experiences, to see the university and the College through their eyes. They transmitted so much love for UVA that it inspires and motivates me every single day.”

Acampora credited Schutt with not only building a financial endowment for the College that will benefit generations of students and faculty for many years to come, but also for his enormous contributions to the University’s cultural and historical endowments through the relationships he built, the values he exemplified and the priorities he defined.

An alumnus of the College, Schutt graduated in 1975 with an economics degree and went on to a distinguished career in financial services before returning to Charlottesville in 2009 to serve as the first president of a College Foundation that was still in its early years of formation.

“His hand is in everything that we have become, because that’s what a founder does: build an organization to reflect his vision and passion,” said Lee Harper, the Foundation’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer.  

Over Schutt’s nearly 16-year career with the Foundation, Harper said, Arts & Sciences has received over $1 billion in philanthropic support with Schutt having secured more than $300 million through the relationships he cultivated with key supporters and alumni.

“Gene has a real ability to understand the important levers within the College and translate [to donors] why, for example, an endowed named professorship is so important for  a particular department or program, or, similarly, why graduate education fellowships and graduate education in general are so critical to the mission of Arts & Sciences.”

Jennifer Bair, A&S senior associate dean for academic affairs and professor of sociology, credits Schutt for the integrity and sincerity with which he approaches every interaction. That transparency and ability to inspire alumni donors has played a critical role in launching the Graduate Excellence campaign in support of the Graduate School, Bair added.

Traditionally, it has been challenging to raise donor money for graduate education.

“But, perhaps because of the foundation of trust that Gene had built up with our stakeholders over a long period of time, he was able to really, explain that in a way that resonated,” Bair said. “And I think that the impact of that already on our Graduate School is transformative. And going forward, that's going to be a lasting legacy.”

Liz Simmons, the current chair of the Foundation’s volunteer Board of Trustees, called it “an absolute pleasure” working with Schutt and getting to witness his ability to convey the importance of UVA’s “Honor the Future” campaign and other milestone fundraising efforts.

“It boils down to Gene's lack of ego, his warmth, and his unvarnished love for the College,” she said.

In her role as director of the Economics Career Office (ECO), launched in 2013 by the Department of Economics, Jennifer Jones said Schutt and his team’s fundraising efforts did not end with raising the first two years of funding for the program. During the pandemic, Jones said Schutt connected ECO with friends and donors who provided alternative internships and other experiential learning opportunities for A&S students to replace canceled opportunities.

Continued fundraising led to a major endowment for ECO, now known as the Edwin T. Burton Economics Career Office.

“Gene’s influence has created a lasting impact, benefiting thousands of students in their professional journeys and will benefit thousands more to come,” Jones said.

In appreciation of Schutt’s legacy, the Eugene R. Schutt Endowment will be used to honor, celebrate and motivate Arts & Sciences’ most generous donors to generate future philanthropic support at the highest levels. 

Ongoing efforts have raised $750,000 so far for the Schutt Endowment from 44 donors, all major supporters of previous A&S fundraising initiatives. 

You can learn more about ways to contribute to the endowment to honor Schutt’s legacy and support future fundraising for the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences here. If you have questions about giving to the Schutt endowment, pleace contact Cindy LaVarra at cindylavarra@virginia.edu