Kiefer graduated from LaSalle College with a B.A. in English and religion and earned a M.A. in theology from Boston College. Prior to his 12 years at the College, he served as the Vice Principal of Development and Alumni Relations at McGill University beginning in 1989 and as Vice President, Campaign Director and Communications Director of Ketchum, Inc., starting in 1977.
In his position of Chief Advancement Officer, Kiefer oversees the activities of the Offices of Alumni and Parent Programs, Development, Public Affairs and Advancement Operations. He is also one of five members on the President's Senior Staff and in the senior administration. Other members include Dean of the Faculty Gregory Call, Treasurer Peter Shea, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Thomas Parker and Dean of Students Ben Lieber. During Kiefer's tenure, annual gift income at Amherst grew from roughly $15 million to around $35 million.
When asked why he is stepping down at this point, Kiefer explained that every college and university undergoes an intensification of its fundraising efforts at least once in the space of a decade. According to Kiefer, the work of the Committee on Academic Priorities, and its findings, will probably result in a comprehensive fundraising campaign in the near future. Having planned to pursue his other interests, he felt it would have been irresponsible to step down in the middle of such a campaign. "I am very committed to sprinting to the finish line with my colleagues and to maintaining the momentum that we have built until the president and Board of Trustees selects my successor," said Kiefer.
Though he has not yet determined where he will go after his time at the College, he hopes to work with an institution that promotes intercultural understanding. "Having made my decision, I am very eager to chart new courses and explore this new phase in my professional career," he said.
While he is excited to see what the future holds, Kiefer described his decision as "bittersweet." "I really love Amherst," Kiefer explained. "My life and my family's life are deeply intertwined with Amherst. Both my children have grown up here. My wife, Carol Solomon Kiefer, is the curator of European art at the Mead Art Museum. In addition to being long time members of the community, we are also Amherst parents [of Zoe Kiefer '05]."
Students expressed sadness upon learning of Kiefer's plans. Pat Savage '07 spoke of his experiences working with Kiefer on securing funding for the Zumbyes' trip to Japan. "He was incredibly helpful," he said. "Without having to look in any databases, he knew all these people and places in Japan by name and was able to point me in the right direction as far as looking up gigs, not to mention patiently explaining all the different resources and options we had on campus to look for money and giving me tips about how to write up a successful proposal. Not only that, but he gave us a bunch of incredibly gaudy Amherst ties and a book on Japan! I didn't even really realize when I met him how high up in the administration he was because he was so generous with his time and was happy to chat away casually about all the fun stuff we could do in Japan."
Octavia Foarta '09 and Anoop Menon '07 recalled their experiences working with Kiefer under their former roles as International Student Association (ISA) senior chairs. "Every year, the Kiefers organize a reception for international students at their home during parents' weekend," they said. "This is consistently a great event that we look forward to. The Kiefers put in a lot of effort into this event [...] [Mr. Kiefer] was very attentive to our suggestions and was quite an amazing person to work with. Even beyond the reception, we were impressed by his genuine concern about various aspects of student life, especially about those of international students in particular. Outside the ISA context, he has been a great person to talk to and work with. We are sad to hear that he will be leaving [...] and wish him all the best on his future endeavors."