Florida A&M University has hired a senior level development professional from the University of Toledo to serve as its new vice president for University Relations.
Carla S. Willis, who has had more than 17 years of experience in the advancement field, will assume her new post on February 18, 2007, and has agreed to an annual salary of $175,000. She also will serve as vice president of the division and executive director of the FAMU Foundation, Inc.
“I’m excited about Mrs. Willis joining the leadership team,” said FAMU President James H. Ammons. “She is talented, personable and highly skilled in the
area of fund raising. I am confident that she can help the university to reach its goals and build a strong fund raising division.”
Willis has served as a principal gifts officer of the University of Toledo and a senior consultant for John Brown Limited, a New Hampshire based-development consulting firm. At the University of Toledo, she was responsible for developing and sustaining a comprehensive development program for University-wide development initiatives in the mid-Atlantic Region and focused nationally on initiatives for the College of Law. In her consulting role, Willis managed large institutional client projects in the areas of feasibility studies, development audits, pre-campaign planning and preparation, staff coaching, strategy development, and solicitation of donors.
"I am pleased to serve as the next vice president for University Relations and executive director of the Foundation for Florida A & M University,” said Willis. “FAMU has a long and rich history, and I look forward to helping shape its future through the philanthropy of alumni, board members, students, corporate supporters and friends."
Willis has also served as a director of development at Ohio Northern University, a regional director for the east coast for the University of Michigan Law School, and headed up her own development consulting firm, Willis Development and Communications Associates.
She began her development career in the early ‘90s at the University of Missouri. Prior to her career in advancement, Willis had a 10-year career with IBM Corporation.
Willis is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE,) and earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from the University of Toledo. She is an active member of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and currently serves as a board member and chair of the Committee on Equity for CASE District V.
She was recently selected as one of 20 international participants in the 2008 Minority Advancement Institute, sponsored by CASE. A noted and frequent presenter on topics related to philanthropy and development, she also is an active member of the Association of Fund Raising Executives (AFP) and has held many offices in the Northwest Ohio Chapter of the organization including Chapter President in 2002.
She is a native of Kansas City, Missouri and is married to Edward Willis and has two teen-aged sons, Brandon, 16, and Christopher, 19.
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