Brian K. Lee, Harvard University’s top fundraising official since September 2018, will step down from his position at the end of the year. The search for his replacement will begin soon, Harvard University Interim President Alan M. Garber said via a statement. Lee was vice president for alumni affairs and development.

Lee’s announcement comes at a tumultuous time for Harvard leadership. In early January, then-President Claudine Gay resigned following testifying in Congress during which she waffled on whether on-campus speech calling for genocide directed at Jews would violate the university’s conduct policy. There were also questions regarding “inadequate citation” within her academic work.

The controversies surrounding Gay had a direct impact on development activities. During the run-up to her resignation several major donors to the university, including hedge fund managers Bill Ackman and Kenneth C. Griffin, Access Industries founder Leonard Blavatnik and others all expressed concern or announced plans to suspend donations. Those three alone had donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the school.

The Wexner Foundation, a nonprofit that develops Jewish professional volunteer leaders in North American and public leaders in Israel, also disassociated itself from Harvard in the wake of Gay’s response to the campus uprisings. Many other individuals publicly or privately either suspended or announced plans to reconsider their support.

According to summarized financial information for the year ended June 30, 2023, philanthropy made up 45% of the university’s annual revenue. Operating revenue for that year was $6.1 billion, with an operating surplus of $186 million, compared with an operating surplus of $406 million the previous year.

Even after Gay’s resignation, donations to the school have been substantially off, according to The Harvard Crimson. The school will not report fundraising totals until October.

In the announcement of Lee’s retirement, he was credited with “significant increases in annual fundraising and increased engagement among alumni.” Under Lee’s management, Harvard recorded four of its top six fundraising years of all time. The announcement also praised Lee for streamlining processes in the university’s development organization and convening and chairing the Council of Fundraising Deans, which championed support for university-wide priorities.

“For the past 25 years, I have been privileged to lead alumni affairs and fund-raising efforts of three outstanding institutions, and serving Harvard has been the high point of a deeply gratifying and rewarding career,” Lee said via a statement to members of the Harvard community. “[N]ow is the time for me to make room for other goals and to be more present and available to my family and friends, whose patience, understanding, and unwavering support have made my life’s work possible.”

Lee had previously headed development activities for Tufts and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).