AVP for foundation relations and sponsored research is named

Mount Holyoke College welcomes Lisa Stoffer as its new associate vice president for foundation relations and sponsored research. She will start on Aug. 11.

Stoffer brings more than two decades of experience in higher education advancement and sponsored research to her new position. Her career has been distinguished by her success in securing transformative institutional grants for the schools where she has worked and expanding support for their faculty-led research.

“I am deeply thrilled to be joining the Mount Holyoke College community, and I eagerly anticipate being a part of the College’s bold new vision, MHC Forward,” Stoffer said. “The College’s faculty can be found on the leading edge of change, and being able to secure support for their research is something I am very eager to do.”

Stoffer is leaving Smith College, where she has served since 2022 as the director of the Office of Grants and Sponsored Research. In that job, she led a team of four people in broadening Smith’s federal funding portfolio, diversifying foundation and corporate support, and enhancing research compliance infrastructure.

“Lisa [Stoffer] is a perfect fit for Mount Holyoke College, as she prioritizes close cooperation and strong collaboration across campus,” Provost and Dean of Faculty Lisa Sullivan said. “She has built a career as a dedicated partner to faculty and is deeply familiar with the Connecticut River Valley and the Five College Consortium.”

Before working at Smith, Stoffer spent 15 years at Amherst College, where she initially served as the director of foundation and corporate relations and later became the director of the Grants Office. In those roles, she helped secure significant support for academic innovation, inclusive pedagogy, scientific research, and library and museum initiatives. She created resources to support grant seekers at all stages of their careers, with a special focus on early-career investigators.

Stoffer began her professional journey in Washington, D.C., by working with the International Research and Exchanges Board to administer academic and professional exchanges across the United States, Eurasia and Central and Eastern Europe. She holds a master’s degree in Russian and East European studies from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor and a bachelor’s degree from Haverford College.