Scott Mory, B.A. ’96, J.D. ’99, has been appointed senior vice president and chief of staff to GW President Ellen M. Granberg beginning July 1.
Mory has a distinguished tenure as a leader in higher education. He currently serves as Carnegie Mellon University’s vice president for university advancement, a role he has held since 2015. Under his leadership, the university launched an ambitious fundraising campaign, exceeding its $2 billion goal more than 18 months ahead of schedule.
From 2007 to 2015, Mory worked at the University of Southern California. He first served as CEO of the USC Alumni Association and then as associate senior vice president and campaign director, managing the day-to-day activities of its $6 billion “Campaign for USC.”
“I am delighted to welcome Scott back to the George Washington University,” said Granberg. “With decades of experience as a dynamic leader in higher education and a deep-rooted connection to GW, Scott brings a unique perspective to our institution and its future. His enthusiasm, innovative thinking and wide-ranging expertise are invaluable additions to GW’s leadership team. I look forward to working with him.”
As senior vice president and chief of staff, Mory will be a critical strategic partner to the university president and within the university’s executive leadership team. He will provide leadership for presidential initiatives across the university; work throughout the university to promote a culture of innovation, transparency, and alignment around GW’s direction and priorities; oversee the coordination of the president’s major institutional leadership forums; lead the Office of the President; and advise university leaders regarding presidential and institutional strategic priorities.
Over more than 30 years, Mory has played many roles at GW. A former political science and criminal justice major at the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences and a graduate of GW Law, Mory returned to his alma mater after several years of practicing law to lead GW’s alumni relations and annual giving programs from 2003 to 2007, first as executive director of alumni programs and then as assistant vice president for alumni relations and annual giving. During his tenure, GW greatly expanded its engagement with alumni, both in programming opportunities and through the GW Annual Fund. Mory was also an adjunct professor at GW Law, teaching a first-year course on legal research, writing and oral advocacy. Mory also served GW as a volunteer, including terms on both the GW Board of Trustees and the GW Alumni Board of Directors.
“It is so fitting that Scott is returning to his alma mater, a place that he loves, for this next chapter of his career,” said Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian. “During his tenure at Carnegie Mellon, Scott has had an extraordinary impact leading our advancement programs as well as helping to shape so many strategic initiatives that have strengthened and elevated our entire university. Those experiences will serve him well in his new role, and I know that President Granberg and the GW community will benefit from his leadership.”
Opportunity ahead
Returning to GW, Mory said his goal is to leverage the university’s strengths—including its location in the nation’s capital, its widespread community of supporters and its network of faculty and student scholars whom he described as “smart, clever… and dedicated to solving the world’s problems”—to help Granberg plot a strategic direction forward.
“GW has so much opportunity ahead of it,” he said. “I’m looking forward to contributing alongside our engaged, generous, spirited community.”
“GW has been a central part of my identity for over three decades,” Mory said. “My parents dropped me off at Thurston Hall in 1992—and the thought of coming back to F Street 32 years later is exciting. It feels like I’m coming home.”
In recognition of his leadership in the advancement profession, Mory was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) in July 2022 and has won CASE’s Crystal Apple Award for Teaching Excellence. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.
Mory said he’s excited to partner with Granberg and advance her “bold vision for where she wants to lead GW.” Meanwhile, he’s eager to reconnect with the energy on campus and throughout the GW family, and he looks forward to assuming his role in July.
“Some of my closest friendships in the world were made at GW. Some of the best mentors I ever had are from GW. And most of the great opportunities I’ve had in my professional life have happened because of GW,” he said. “It’s a place that has very special and deep meaning to me.”