(OXFORD, Miss.) – Sarah Sloan Hollis has been promoted to associate director in the University of Mississippi Office of Development. In addition to helping coordinate major gift development efforts, the Oxford native will provide guidance and direction to many of the development officers for UM’s various schools and the College of Liberal Arts.
In addition, Carol Anne Miconi, the former Carol Anne Marion, has been selected as development officer for corporate and foundation relations. She will work to increase private support from corporations and foundations by cultivating relationships and developing proposals to match their giving goals and interests with university priorities and needs.
The two new positions were created to meet the growth of the Office of Development, which is charged with attracting private support that ensures increased opportunities for students and enhanced support for faculty. In light of the decreased state funding for higher education due to declining tax revenues, private support is critical to continuing expansion and growth, said Deborah S. Vaughn, senior executive director of development.
“We are very pleased to give these two talented leaders expanded responsibilities and to see our team grow,” Vaughn said. “The commitment and generosity of our donors have placed Ole Miss in a much better position than many public and private institutions. However, it is of utmost importance to have the right team to seek resources that further UM’s service to the state and beyond and that strengthen our academic programs.”
Hollis formerly provided leadership as director of development for the School of Pharmacy, while Miconi was the associate director of development for the Patterson School of Accountancy. Searches are underway to identify new development officers to fill their vacated positions.
Hollis first joined UM’s Office of Development in January 2007. A year later she oversaw development and implementation of the Promises to Keep campaign – the School of Pharmacy’s first capital campaign – which has garnered almost $10 million for named endowments for merit and need-based scholarships and fellowships, faculty support and funding for a new pharmacy building at the UM Medical Center in Jackson.
Hollis holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and public relations from the University of Alabama, and she earned summa cum laude honors while pursuing a master’s degree in journalism from UM. Previously, Hollis served as director of marketing and physician services at Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi. She is a member of the Oxford Endowment for Public Education Board of Directors and is active in many community activities.
“My development experience with the School of Pharmacy provides me a good perspective of the opportunities, goals and challenges our development officers face on a day-to-day basis,” Hollis said. “I believe I will provide the guidance needed to maintain focus on building relationships with our alumni and friends and garnering private support to benefit our university, schools, faculty and students.”
Miconi joined the Office of Development in early 2008 as the first development officer working solely with the School of Accountancy. Six new faculty support endowments were created to support the School during her time there, along with numerous scholarship endowments, general endowments and planned gifts.
Miconi earned her undergraduate in accountancy at Ole Miss where she graduated summa cum laude and was a Taylor Medalist. She earned her master’s degree in accountancy from the College of Charleston. The CPA’s prior experiences include serving as staff auditor for Deloitte & Touche as well as an internal auditor for Morgan Keegan, Regions Financial Corp.
“Corporations and foundations provide such strong core support for Ole Miss,” Miconi said. “From creating impactful scholarship programs, to increasing our academic offerings to providing outstanding facilities and supporting special programs, UM has been greatly enriched by this instrumental support. With UM’s many strong programs and talented leaders, I believe we have the potential to expand our relationships with such organizations and help them achieve their philanthropic goals through the valuable work taking place here. I’m excited about the great potential this area offers the university.”
To learn more about making a gift to the university, go to www.umfoundation.com/makeagift or call the University of Mississippi Foundation at 800-340-9542.
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tina hahn