Former Kauffman exec is new vice chancellor for external affairs

A Lawrence native with a national reputation for strategic planning and innovative ideas has been named KU’s executive vice chancellor for external affairs,

Paul Carttar, the former chief operating officer of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, Mo., will oversee KU’s public relations, communications, marketing and government relations efforts and coordinate the development and communication of planning priorities and initiatives spanning all campuses of the university. He will be the university’s senior officer overseeing relationships with external constituencies and with the Athletics Corporation, the Alumni Association and the Endowment Association.

“Paul is a KU graduate with stellar management and planning skills,” said Chancellor Robert Hemenway. “He has a national reputation as a strategic thinker with an entrepreneurial vision, honed by extensive experience in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors.”

Carttar succeeds Janet Murguia, who left in March for the top post at the National Council of La Raza in Washington, D.C.

Carttar’s national reputation stems from his role as co-founder in 1999 of the Bridgespan Group, a Boston-based management consulting firm specializing in nonprofit strategic planning that has been heralded by the New York Times and business media for its innovative ideas for nonprofit organizations.

“With our integrated marketing effort and a stronger effort in state relations, as well as KU’s growing involvement in the research and life sciences arena, I think KU is well-positioned to have a major impact on the region and its economy during the next decade,” Carttar said.

"All of us at KU can help make that happen by relentlessly focusing on delivering real value to the parents, students, taxpayers and others who rely upon us, effectively telling KU's story to key audiences and earning their support for our students, faculty and programs."

Carttar graduated with highest distinction from KU in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and English. He was a Summerfield Scholar and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He attended Cornell University School of Law in 1976 and earned a master’s in business administration at Stanford University in 1983.

Carttar’s professional career began in 1977 as assistant economist and budget analyst for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget. In 1978 he became a research assistant to Arthur Burns, former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. In 1982 Carttar was selected by Burns, then U.S. ambassador to West Germany, to serve in Bonn as special assistant, responsible for monitoring and assessing U.S. economic and political developments, speechwriting and other functions.

Carttar returned to the United States to join Bain & Co. Inc., a worldwide management consulting firm in San Francisco, from 1983 to 1990. For the next nine years, he served in various marketing, planning and general management capacities with healthcare companies, including a publicly held manufacturer of contact lenses and venture capital-funded companies in the diagnostic equipment and physician services segments. In 2003, Carttar moved back to the greater Kansas City area as chief operating officer for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, Mo.