Stephen Ackley-Ortiz Appointed IAS Chief Development Officer

The Institute for Advanced Study has appointed Stephen Ackley-Ortiz as its new Chief Development Officer. Ackley-Ortiz was most recently Director of Development at Yale Law School, where he oversaw all individual giving programs. Since 2004, he has held several leadership positions in the school’s office of development, from planned and principal giving to alumni engagement. He begins at IAS on August 8, 2022.

“Stephen is a versatile leader and an attentive mentor with a remarkable track record of success in development,” stated David Nirenberg, IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor. “He has deep and broad expertise in many aspects of engagement and campaign planning, and is in addition a warm colleague and interlocutor. I am delighted that Stephen is joining our community in its collective stewardship of the Institute, and look forward to nourishing together the Institute’s growth into its second century.”

Throughout his 18 years of experience, Ackley-Ortiz has been instrumental in improving development operations, recruiting and mentoring new staff members, and exceeding fundraising goals. He set a fundraising record at Yale Law in FY20 with $108 million raised for the school and key campaign initiatives. He was a key member of the team which developed and executed the $200 million Yale Tomorrow Campaign (2004–11), achieving 126% of its original goal. He was a lead member of the Campaign Planning Group for the school’s current For Humanity comprehensive campaign.

As the Institute’s Chief Development Officer, Ackley-Ortiz will lead the advancement team and enact a comprehensive program to support IAS in its mission to expand fundamental knowledge and foster global collaboration across disciplines.

“I am deeply honored to be joining the Institute for Advanced Study, and excited to have the opportunity to partner with David Nirenberg at the outset of his directorship,” said Ackley-Ortiz. “I look forward to working closely with the entire IAS community to help advance the mission of this extraordinary institution.”

Between 2004–10, Ackley-Ortiz held the titles of Associate Director, Major Gifts; Director of Planned Giving; and Director of Principal Gifts at Yale Law School. He served as Assistant Dean for Development at New York University School of Law from 2010–11. He returned to Yale Law in 2012 as Director of Alumni Engagement and became Director of Development in 2019.

Ackley-Ortiz completed his undergraduate education, summa cum laude, at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and earned his M.A. in Spanish and Portuguese from Yale University. He received a J.D. from Yale Law, and worked in private practice in Connecticut before beginning his administrative career in development.

About the Institute
The Institute for Advanced Study has served the world as one of the leading independent centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry since its establishment in 1930, advancing the frontiers of knowledge across the sciences and humanities. From the work of founding IAS faculty such as Albert Einstein and John von Neumann to that of the foremost thinkers of the present, the IAS is dedicated to enabling curiosity-driven exploration and fundamental discovery.

Each year, the Institute welcomes more than 200 of the world’s most promising post-doctoral researchers and scholars who are selected and mentored by a permanent Faculty, each of whom are preeminent leaders in their fields. Among present and past Faculty and Members there have been 35 Nobel Laureates, 44 of the 62 Fields Medalists, and 22 of the 25 Abel Prize Laureates, as well as many MacArthur Fellows and Wolf Prize winners.