Matt Durkan has been hired as the new director of development at Cal State San Bernardino’s Palm Desert Campus. He will work to expand the programs and offerings at the Palm Desert Campus, the only four-year public university serving the Coachella Valley. Durkan is a seasoned development professional with extensive experience in higher education and non-profit fundraising. He has held executive advancement positions within respected nonprofit organizations including UCLA, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, the Betty Ford Center and the American Cancer Society.Durkan has an established record of accomplishment of securing significant foundation, corporate and individual philanthropic support. As the director of the UCLA Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, he secured a multi-million dollar endowment that established the UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity and played a significant role in the cultivation of a donor that resulted in a $50 million gift to name the school.  As executive director of development and alumni relations for the UCLA School of Nursing, Durkan closed a seven-figure gift to expand nursing education in China and significantly expanded funding for student scholarships.  As director of major and planned gifts at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, he helped establish an endowed fellowship for cardiothoracic surgery and managed fundraising activities that established initiatives for Individualized Health, Regenerative Medicine and the Institute for the Developing Mind.  As national philanthropy officer for the Western Region and Canada at the Betty Ford Center, he managed a large portfolio of major donors who supported the foundation’s mission established by Mrs. Ford, of helping individuals, families and communities heal from the consequences caused by the disease of addiction. Throughout his career, Durkan has worked for nonprofit organizations whose mission he supports passionately, especially higher education, healthcare and advocacy.  A resident of the Coachella Valley since 2014, Durkan says he is thrilled to be utilizing the fundraising skills that he has acquired throughout his career and applying them to improving the student experience at CSUSB’s Palm Desert Campus not only for their benefit, but also for the benefit of the entire desert community. The CSUSB Palm Desert Campus offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees, a doctorate in educational leadership, and teacher credentials and certificates. With more than 1,400 students, it is the Coachella Valley’s four-year public university and plays a vital role in educating and training the region’s growing population. For more information about the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus, contact Mike Singer in the Office of Public Affairs at msinger@csusb.edu or (760) 341-2883, ext. 78107, or visit the campus website at pdc.csusb.edu.