With a Juris Doctor from the University of Kansas College of Law and Bachelor of Arts from Benedictine College, Keefe has spent more than 20 years in higher education, most recently serving as the vice president of advancement at Saint Louis University. At Saint Louis University, he served as a key member of the presidential council, exhibiting strategic leadership particularly related to alumni relations and development as well as in the overall marketing and positioning of the university to all outside constituencies. He is a nationally recognized expert and speaker in the field of donor cultivation having direct involvement and/or a leadership role in generating more than $500 million in gifts and grants for institutions he has served.

 

Keefe became the vice president for advancement at Saint Louis University in 2005, where he was responsible for substantially increasing the annual giving, heading fundraising efforts for a new building and sports arena, a $300 million capital campaign, and restructuring the alumni, development, and university relations areas to better support the university’s needs. He has also served as the president of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Foundation as well as the executive director of the school’s advancement department.

 

During his career, Keefe has also worked with the Catholic Aid Association Foundation in St. Paul, Minn., the University of St. Thomas’ Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity, Francis Marion Drake Society at Drake University, and practiced law with Children’s Legal Rights in Washington, D.C. He has published numerous articles on legal and social justice issues, fundraising, and donor cultivation.