Patton McDowell is Managing Director of Vandever Batten.

He brings 18 years of fund raising, strategic planning and organizational management experience to the firm. His background includes:

• Vice President for University Advancement at Queens University of Charlotte -- Patton was the chief advancement officer for the university, responsible for planning, implementing and managing all fundraising, communication and alumni programs. He oversaw 22 full-time staff, was the chief liaison to the University’s 36-member Board of Trustees and initiated the university’s 70-member President’s Advisory Circle. He led fundraising initiatives that generated over $40 million during his five-year tenure, including two of the three highest fundraising years in the school’s history. Patton also led Queens’ marketing efforts and its local, state and federal government relations initiatives.
• Vice Chancellor for University Advancement at UNC Wilmington -- The youngest vice chancellor in the UNC system, Patton helped complete the university’s first capital campaign of $25 million. He also launched successful campaigns for a Teachers Legacy Hall for the School of Education and a Sports Medicine facility for athletics and health & physical education. Patton served as Executive Director of the UNCW Foundation and as the chief liaison to the University’s 70-member Board of Visitors.
• Program Director for North Carolina Special Olympics – Patton created a unique volunteer training system called sport development teams, still in use today across the country, and conducted coach and volunteer workshops throughout North Carolina, Canada, New Zealand and the Caribbean.
• A native North Carolinian from Elizabeth City, Patton received a BA in English Education from UNC-Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar. He earned an MBA from the McColl School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte.

In the community, Patton serves on the board of the public charter school Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy as well as Kids Voting Mecklenburg. He is on the executive committee of the local Leave A Legacy planned giving chapter and is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). He also serves on the state board of Special Olympics North Carolina. Patton was one of 25 North Carolinians selected to the class of 2003 for the William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations, a two-year leadership development program.