UCLA’s Head of Fund-Raising Resigns Post

UCLA’s chief fund-raiser has quit as the Westwood school gears up for its billion-dollar campaign.

James W. Osterholt, associate vice chancellor for development, has resigned “in recognition” that the school needed someone with better internal management skills during the upcoming campaign, Chancellor Charles E. Young said in a letter circulated to campus officers Friday.

Osterholt, who could not be reached for comment, worked at UCLA for 21 years and in recent years oversaw the private foundation and development staff. He indicated six weeks ago that he had the “promise of another job” and might be moving on, said Robert S. Wilson, a Los Angeles developer who is volunteer chairman of the billion-dollar campaign.

A UCLA spokeswoman emphasized Tuesday that the resignation was “completely unrelated” to recent Times reports that UCLA, in part through its development staff, has given special consideration to admission and housing requests made by donors and other prominent people.