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Home University of Memphis Media Room News Releases Joanna Curtis

UofM’s Joanna Curtis promoted to Vice President for Advancement; Record $26.5 million raised for academic fundraising

July 21, 2021 — Joanna Curtis has been promoted to vice president for advancement as the University of Memphis secured a record $26.575 million for fiscal year 2021. It eclipsed consecutive records of $26.3 million in 2019 and $23.1 million in 2018.

The totals include gifts of cash, pledges and planned gifts from alumni, friends, corporations and foundations to the University of Memphis Foundation.

Curtis, who is in her 13th year at the UofM, was named chief advancement officer in March 2019 after serving as the interim chief development officer since November 2018. Earning her master’s from the UofM in nonprofit management, she previously served as deputy chief development officer for principal giving, senior director of development, director of major gifts and director of development for the College of Education.

Curtis is a Certified Fundraising Executive, named among the 2019 Memphis Business Journal Superwomen in Business and 2020 Outstanding Fundraising Executive from the AFP Memphis Chapter.

Major gifts of note for 2021 include:

  • $5,000,000: Crews Family Foundation to endow the Crews School of Accountancy in the Fogelman College of Business & Economics.
  • $2,200,000: Campbell Trust for the College of Education.
  • $1,850,000: Helen and Jabie Hardin Family Charitable Trust for scholarships and programming for first-generation students and the Institute for Public Service Reporting.
  • $1,000,000: Mike and Marian Bruns to launch the Bruns Scholarship Challenge, which has resulted in more than two dozen new endowed scholarships for undergraduates from the Memphis metro area with a financial need.