College of William & Mary alumnus Matthew Lambert will become the chief fundraiser for his alma mater later this spring.
The college’s Board of Visitors approved Lambert’s appointment Friday. He replaces former Vice President for Development Sean Pieri, who left last fall to become vice president for advancement at Colorado College. Earl Granger has served in the interim.
Lambert, a 1999 graduate of W&M, is now the associate vice president for university development at Georgetown University. He has served in that role since 2009, successfully leading a campaign to raise $1.5 billion. He joined the Georgetown Office of Advancement in 2002 and earned five promotions in his tenure. A major focus of his efforts involved support for faculty endowments and student scholarships, as well as capital building projects.
“For more than a decade, Georgetown has been privileged to have Matthew as a member of our community,” said Georgetown President John DeGioia. “His service has strengthened our efforts to more deeply engage our alumni and friends as well as our work to sustain a competitive trajectory into the future. We’re grateful for his commitment and service, and he has our very best wishes as he returns home to William & Mary.”
W&M President Taylor Reveley called Lambert a “son of the college,” and his roots run deep. His wife, Karen Silverberg Lambert, is a 1998 grad who served as president of her senior class and chairwoman of the bone marrow drive. His brother graduated in 1997, and his aunt, Louise Lambert Kale, is executive director of the historic campus. His grandfather, J. Wilfred Lambert (himself a 1927 graduate of the college), was a teacher and administrator who served as dean of students from 1945 until 1970, before becoming the college’s first vice president for student affairs. His grandmother, Anne Lambert, was a 1935 graduate who was active in the Alumni Association.
“It is an honor and a privilege to serve my alma mater as we seek to secure William & Mary’s future with greater levels of philanthropy. Private support will be critical for great universities to thrive in the years ahead and will have significant impact on advancing this world-class university — where teacher-scholars and bright students engage in life-changing educational experiences. I look forward to working closely with President Reveley and the many talented students, faculty, and staff to ensure that the uniqueness of a William & Mary education endures and is strengthened for future generations,” Lambert said. “Karen and I are thrilled to come home to William & Mary.”
At W&M, he studied psychology and sociology, going on to earn a master’s degree from The Ohio State University and a doctorate in higher education management for the University of Pennsylvania. He received two of the college’s most prestigious awards as an undergraduate — the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award in recognition of influence for good and the Benjamin Stoddert Ewell Award for outstanding leadership and service.
Since his graduation, he has served on the board of directors of the Fund for William & Mary, and he co-chaired two of his reunion gift committees. He has also served as an alumni mentor and internship host with the Cohen Career Center. At Georgetown, he taught a course on education policy in the era of globalization; he plans to continue teaching at W&M.
