Patricia Parnie Purcell Wahlen, Class of 1966, is awarded the 2004 Wells College Alumnae Award for devoting her professional life to fundraising for educational institutions and the performing arts.  She is honored for her astonishing achievements; her balanced, respectful and insightful advice to clients; her remarkable clarity of vision and personal integrity; and her flexibility and agility with the many constituencies with whom she works.  She is also honored as a mentor to those with whom she has worked for her unique ability to motivate and teach, and for her belief in and respect for those who work for her.

Pat was the fourth woman in her family to attend Wells after her mother and two aunts graduated in the classes of ’29, ’31 and ’35.  Pat graduated in 1966 with a major in Philosophy and was a proven leader during her four years at Wells.  She was active in student government, serving on Rep Council, the Constitution Rewrite Committee, the Student-Faculty Committee and as an officer of Collegiate.  She was gifted musically and sang with the Chamber Singers, Henry’s VIII, and the Wells College Choir, serving as president of the Choir her senior year.  Pat was also a star swimmer and outstanding athlete, leading the Even Line team as its captain her freshman year and coaching it her junior year.  Most importantly, her classmates attest to her leadership and personal charisma in all her endeavors.

Interestingly, Pat started her professional career at Wells, where she joined the Development Office as an Administrative Assistant in 1969, and, after several promotions, was named Vice President for Development in 1976.  She then moved on to very successful development positions at Goucher College and the University of Maryland.  But her star really began to rise when she joined the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1985 and led the Orchestra to reach its campaign goal of $40 million, the largest amount ever raised by an American symphony orchestra at the time.  The campaign created a sensation within the world of fundraising and led in 1993 to her position as Director of Development for the Cleveland Orchestra, believed by many to be the top symphony orchestra in the country.

Pat’s extraordinary accomplishment in Cleveland was to raise $16 million more than the Orchestra’s Twenty-First Century Campaign promise of $100 million.  A hefty portion of the $116 million garnered through her efforts was used to finance the much needed expansion and beautiful renovation of Severance Hall, the Orchestra’s historic home.  Raising this amount of money in a mid-size city was unparalleled.  Pat would go on to raise $195 million to fund orchestra initiatives during her seven years in Cleveland.  In November of 1998, she was named a “rainmaker – one of the 10 most influential businesswomen in Northern Ohio”, and was featured in Northern Ohio Live magazine with a full-page picture and biography.  In 2000, Pat left the Orchestra to do private development consulting – and her first client was the Cleveland Orchestra!

 What sets Pat apart in her field is not only the phenomenal dollar amounts her efforts have generated, but that she has achieved – and exceeded – very challenging financial goals by building tremendously loyal and dedicated staffs, creating systematic and efficient administrative structures, and personally cultivating and respecting her donors.  She has also helped to build and engage supportive and active boards of trustees with whom she has worked very closely.  A woman who reported to Pat at the Cleveland Orchestra, described Pat’s extraordinary leadership in guiding the Orchestra’s many constituencies:  “Her passion for the institution, deep understanding of the development field, unwavering focus on the goal, attention to detail and tireless energy set standards for others to emulate”.  By setting high standards for herself and others, Pat energized the Orchestra’s extended family and thereby created a legacy as important to the Orchestra’s long term future as the short-term financial results of any one campaign.

Pat’s impressive skills as a fundraiser are matched by her ability and willingness to mentor others.  Throughout the course of her own career, Pat has taken the time to effectively motivate volunteers and to teach, guide and challenge her staff to help them grow as professionals.  At the Cleveland Orchestra, Pat helped coach a young CPA new to the development field by providing reading material, developing a crash course in development and meeting with the new staffer weekly to talk about development theory, strategy, personal cultivation and solicitation.  A former clerk in the Wells Development Office has written:  “When I used to go into [Pat’s] office and ask how to do something, she would say, ‘How do you think it should be done?’  I didn’t want to make mistakes, but she told me that I would have to in order to learn.”  The clerk went on to become the Director of Annual Giving at Wells.

Pat has been admired and revered by those with whom and for whom she has worked, just as she was – and is-- respected by her Wells sisters.  Christine Thoburn, who reported to Pat at the Cleveland Orchestra, called Pat an exceptional woman, a consummate professional, and a credit to Wells.  Jane Ainsworth, a Wells classmate, summed it up by saying that Pat is a Wells woman for all generations to respect, admire and emulate.

~ Nell Mohn ‘80, Award Committee Chair