Carolyn Hess Abraham

Associate Dean, Advancement

Bio

Carolyn Hess Abraham is the associate dean for Advancement in Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Fine Arts (CFA). Hess Abraham serves as a senior member of the CFA management team and leads and manages the direction, planning and execution of fundraising and alumni relations activities for the college. She is responsible for creating and implementing a comprehensive fundraising and alumni relations strategy for CFA, working with the college’s current team to maximize advancement efforts among various audiences.

A 26-year employee of Carnegie Mellon, Hess Abraham joined CFA in November 2016 from the Tepper School of Business, where she served as executive director of Corporate and Foundation Relations. Hess Abraham has extensive experience in personal, corporate and foundation fundraising programs, including philanthropy, research support and experiential learning student projects.

She earned her undergraduate degree from Brown University in economics and international relations, and her MBA from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. She has served as an adjunct professor of business administration at the Tepper School and as a lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business. She is an active volunteer/board member in several Pittsburgh civic organizations and brings a lifelong enthusiasm and support of the arts to CFA.