Rome, Ga. — Shorter University is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Ben Bruce, a veteran advancement professional, to the university’s Advancement division. Dr. Bruce began serving as Shorter’s Vice President for University Advancement on Nov. 13.

Dr. Bruce came to Shorter from his post as Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Executive Director for the AIDB Foundation for the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, a state organization that serves more than 24,500 children and adults throughout Alabama and operates with approximately 1,200 employees and an annual budget of more than $80 million.

“Dr. Ben Bruce brings a wealth of experience to his role as head of our Advancement team, and we are excited to welcome him to the Shorter family,” said Shorter University President Dr. Don Dowless. “He is a strategic leader with experience overseeing all areas of Advancement, including marketing and public relations, alumni relations, church relations, and all facets of fundraising from annual fund to capital campaigns, estate and planned giving, endowment building, and grant writing. Most importantly, he is a Christ-centered leader who values Shorter University’s mission of Transforming Lives through Christ and who works to honor the Lord Jesus Christ in all he does.”

Dr. Bruce’s higher education fundraising experience includes serving as Vice President for University Advancement at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Ala., and more than a decade of increasing responsibility as he rose through the ranks of the fundraising staff at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tenn. He has nine years’ experience as a senior administrator and worked to increase community ties through the establishment of initiatives such as a Leadership Council, Marketing Council, and Sports Advisory Council. A graduate of Leadership Montgomery, he worked to plan that program’s current initiatives and to cultivate strong working relationships with key leaders in the City of Montgomery.

He graduated from Western Oklahoma State College with an Associate of Arts and earned the Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and the Master of Ministry degrees from Freed-Hardeman University and both the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry with a concentration in Leadership from Liberty University. He is completing a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Leadership Studies at Johnson University and is in the final stages of dissertation research work on Philanthropic Leadership.

Dr. Bruce is a member of the Business Council of Alabama, Sunrise Montgomery Rotary, the Montgomery chapter of Alabama Professional Fundraisers, CASE, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, and the Chairman’s Circle of the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce. He served from 2013 to 2017 on the Leadership Montgomery Board of Directors and has served on the boards for the United Way in the Talladega and River Regions, the Brantwood Children’s Home, and for Montgomery Sunrise Rotary, where he was committee chairman of the Public Relations Committee and a Paul Harris Fellow.

“I’m excited to join the Shorter University family and look forward to building relationships and connecting to alumni and friends of the university,” Dr. Bruce said.

Dr. Bruce and his wife, Shelly, are relocating to Rome with their five children.

Founded in 1873, Shorter University is a Christ-centered, four-year liberal arts university committed to excellence in education. U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review annually include Shorter on their lists of best Southeastern Colleges. The university offers traditional bachelor’s degrees in 40 areas of study, online courses and degree programs, undergraduate programs for working adults, and master’s programs.