UI’s VP for Advancement prepares for new academic year
The University of Idaho’s new Vice President for Advancement Mary Kay McFadden said the first thing she is going to do when she gets to Moscow in August is take a stroll down Hello Walk before getting to work.
“I’m going to roll up my sleeves and start to learn all that I can about this role and what are the needs and opportunities that exist this year,” McFadden said.
McFadden will start her job at UI on Aug. 30. She graduated from UI in 1980, and she said she has since held jobs at colleges in Idaho, Washington and will return again to Moscow after leaving her current work at the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering.
McFadden will come to UI as part of a group of new faculty members the university has received throughout the past year. Rather than being overwhelmed by the unfamiliarity, however, she said she is actually looking forward to learning about UI and meeting the people of the area.
“I think that’s going to be a pleasure,” she said. “Just to learn all the new things about Idaho and meet all the folks associated with the University of Idaho and working for its advancement.”
To continue adding to the growing community of UI, McFadden said she is eager to build a strong advancement team. She will start with hiring a new director of alumni relations. She said she realizes the importance of having a solid alumni office and she is intent on working hard to create a strong alumni network.
She said she also plans to help with more universal goals for the university such as increasing enrollment and contributing to scholarship opportunities.
“I was able to go to the University of Idaho because of scholarships,” she said. “So I personally know the importance of scholarships in terms of launching a person’s life, giving them an opportunity to get a college degree … I’m really excited to have a chance to give back in that way.”
Working to provide students with scholarship money is going to be of high importance to her once she starts working at UI, McFadden said. She said she also hopes she can simply prove herself to be an asset to university students and faculty to help contribute to the unique community UI has.
“I want to strengthen the engine that is the University of Idaho,” she said.
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ErinBamer