Bumgardner Appointed Director of Development for Fay Jones School of Architecture

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Terry Bumgardner

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Terry Bumgardner is the new director of development for the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas. Bumgardner has worked at the university for the past seven years, most recently as director of individual giving for KUAF, the National Public Radio affiliate, and previously at the Arkansas Alumni Association, as director of communications and marketing.

“We are excited to have Terry on board,” said Dean Jeff Shannon. “I look forward to working with her to promote the school and to secure important philanthropic support.”

At KUAF, Bumgardner recently directed a successful $1.5 million On the Move Capital Campaign to raise funds for the construction of a new 7,500-square-foot facility. In the station’s 25-year history, the Carver Center for Public Radio is its first home built specifically for radio. In addition, Bumgardner was responsible for recruiting and coordinating the volunteer capital campaign fundraising committee. She managed the annual membership program and developed and managed events. She also set goals and developed fundraising strategies to raise the money needed for the public-funded entity’s annual budget.

“Through her work with KUAF, Terry has become an outstanding fundraiser for the University of Arkansas, and this opportunity provided the ideal next step in her career,” said Mark Power, director of development and principal gifts. “She will build upon the school’s already successful development program to raise much-needed support for the future.”

Bumgardner said this is an exciting time for the Fay Jones School of Architecture, with the recent move of the interior design program into the school and the plans for the renovation and addition to Vol Walker Hall, the school’s home. She’s also impressed by the architecture program’s top 20 ranking by Design Intelligence and the work being done by the University of Arkansas Community Design Center and Garvan Woodland Gardens.

“It just feels like things are building on each other, and the future is going to be really bright,” she said. “I’ve always liked to build things, and to be part of that building process is fun — whether it’s structures or programs.”

In her new role, she will foster relationships with alumni, friends and supporters of the Fay Jones School of Architecture.

One of her first big projects will be to work with Shannon to conduct a fundraising initiative to raise about $5 million for the $32.7 million project to renovate Vol Walker Hall and construct the Steven L. Anderson Design Center. Bumgardner said the key to success for the KUAF capital campaign was “getting people together who were very energized about the project, and then they would go out and energize other people. It was really about building relationships, and the Carver Center for Public Radio was the end product.”

Bumgardner particularly enjoys the campus environment. “There’s a certain electricity when you’re around students. They’re so energetic, creative and smart.” And she looks forward to sharing their stories with prospective donors. For her, fundraising is about “connecting donors with their passions.”

Before coming to the University of Arkansas, Bumgardner worked at Heifer International and at the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, both in Little Rock. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Sam Houston State University. She is a member of the Winslow Community Development Council and a volunteer with the Winslow Recycling Program.