Phil Castleberry Headshot

Phil Castleberry

Vice President for University Advancement

VP for University Advancement Office
University Advancement

Office Location

Phil Castleberry

Vice President for University Advancement

VP for University Advancement Office
University Advancement

Bio

Mr. Phillip D. Castleberry, a 20-year veteran of higher education advancement and fundraising, became vice president of University Advancement for Rochester Institute of Technology in February 2020.

In this role, Mr. Castleberry oversees the largest fundraising effort in the university’s history—“Transforming RIT: The Campaign for Greatness”—and provides strategic vision and operational leadership for all aspects of the university’s development and alumni initiatives, including fundraising and cultivating constituency relations. He oversees a team of approximately 100 professionals focused not only on achieving, and exceeding, the ambitious goals of the $1 billion “Transforming RIT” campaign, but on cultivating a culture of philanthropy and engagement with RIT alumni and friends across the region, the nation, and the globe. 

Before coming to RIT, Mr. Castleberry was vice president for institutional advancement at St. John Fisher College. In this role, he oversaw development, alumni and constituent engagement, corporate and foundation relations, government affairs, advancement services, stewardship, and events. Mr. Castleberry generated significant philanthropic giving at St. John Fisher and was the architect of “Fisher Forward,” the most ambitious comprehensive campaign in the college’s history with a fundraising goal of $75 million. 

Prior to St. John Fisher, Mr. Castleberry spent seven years at the University of Rochester, serving most recently as associate vice president of university advancement. Before that, he held a variety of development and advancement roles of increasing responsibility with such institutions as Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Missouri—St. Louis, William Jewell College, and the University of Central Missouri. 


Personal Links

In the News

  • November 29, 2023

    two college students who are twins who are not identical standing outside on a college campus.

    Transformative Campaign propels university to new heights

    More than $200 million has been given to Transforming RIT to support scholarships and the student experience to ensure the best and brightest minds can attend RIT regardless of their financial circumstances. The campaign, launched publicly in 2018, is bringing RIT’s strategic plan to life by investing in student success, creating world-class facilities, advancing research and discovery, and innovating careers of the future.

  • October 16, 2023

    two people standing on a stage clapping with large projector screens behind them show the dollar amount of 1 billion, 59 million, 5 hundred 81 thousand, 4 hundred 63.

    Gala marks successful conclusion of Transforming RIT: The Campaign for Greatness

    Nearly 300 people gathered on Friday evening at the beginning of Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend as RIT officials marked the successful conclusion of Transforming RIT: The Campaign for Greatness. RIT’s largest-ever fundraising campaign raised $1,059,581,463 to propel the university forward in its pursuits at the intersection of technology, the arts, and design.

  • September 8, 2023

    two college professors standing next to each other, both wearing R I T medallions around their necks.

    Two faculty members installed as Harris Endowed Professors in RIT’s College of Science

    Christopher Collison was appointed to the Jane King Harris Endowed Professorship and Emmett Ientilucci was selected for the Gerald W. Harris Endowed Professorship by College of Science Dean Andre Hudson. RIT alumnus Jeffrey Harris ’75 (photographic science and instrumentation) and his partner, Joyce Pratt, established the professorships in 2022 with a generous gift in honor of Harris’s parents, the namesakes of the positions.