Frederick A. Pettit, J.D. Joins Delaware Valley University as Vice President for Advancement

Dr. Benjamin E. Rusiloski, president of Delaware Valley University (DelVal), announced today that effective Aug. 24, 2026, Frederick A. Pettit, J.D., will be the University’s vice president for Advancement.

“Pettit is an innovative and collaborative leader with proven success in advancing institutional mission through strategic planning, campaign development and execution, constituent engagement, and delivering fundraising results,” said Dr. Rusiloski. “The experience he brings to relationship building with business and government leaders is essential to expanding support for our mission: Preparing graduates for success in their chosen career through science with practice, or learning by doing.”

Most recently, Pettit was vice president for University Advancement at La Salle University where he transformed the advancement unit into a high-functioning team that delivered historic results. He implemented improved processes, invested in fundraising technology and formalized advancement team member KPIs, resulting in La Salle’s most successful fundraising year in fiscal year 2026. The 2026 results included La Salle’s best-performing Day of Giving (more than $2 million raised) and record total fundraising (nearly $20 million raised). He has delivered significant increases in lead donors with 63% of major gifts in fiscal year 2025 coming from new major gift donors. Pettit led the planning and implementation of the University’s first comprehensive campaign in 20 years, which is expected to go public in the near future.

Prior to joining La Salle, Pettit served as vice president for Institutional Advancement (as well as an appointment as interim vice president for Business Affairs/CFO) at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. In his 12 years at King’s, he led the development of a strategic plan and built a team of high-performing professionals in advancement and marketing and communications. He led the planning and execution of the institution’s largest fundraising campaign, exceeding the $50 million stretch goal by raising approximately $57 million.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to join Dr. Rusiloski’s talented team at DelVal,” shared Pettit. “DelVal is such an important and historic institution. The more I learned in this process about DelVal’s unique place in the higher education landscape, the more excited I became to play a role in the University’s bright future.”

Pettit started his professional career as an attorney serving as an assistant district attorney for the City of Philadelphia before moving to private practice at Anderson Kill and later Offit Kurman. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from King’s College and Juris Doctor from Temple University.