OXFORD, Miss. Jeff Ulmer, who brings more than 20 years of institutional advancement experience from two prestigious Southeastern Conference schools to the University of Mississippi, has been named president of the UMAA Foundation.
"For Ole Miss athletics to be viable in the future, our donor base must be expanded," said Athletics Director Pete Boone. "Jeff brings to us valuable experience in research, planning and presentations from two SEC institutions that are very successful in this area."
"The UMAA Foundation is fortunate to have Jeff Ulmer as its president," said Ole Miss Chancellor Robert Khayat. "He is an experienced development officer who understands the role of private support in athletics programs and will provide the kind of leadership we need to be competitive in the Southeastern Conference. Escalating costs have made it essential to increase the level of private support for athletics and we believe Jeff will provide the kind of leadership we need."
Ulmer began his development career in 1989 at his alma mater, the University of Florida, where he served four colleges and participated in two capital campaigns over a 15-year period. He started as the Associate Director of Development for UF's College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, moving on to become the Associate Director of Development for UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Ulmer eventually became the Director of Development for Florida's Levin College of Law before moving to UF's Warrington College of Business/Fisher School of Accounting as the Senior Director of Development.
In 2003, Ulmer was lured away from his alma mater to become the Assistant Dean for Development for Vanderbilt University's Law School where he guided the law school through a $28 million capital campaign. Three years later he was named Executive Director of Development for Vanderbilt's Commodore Club, the fund raising arm of Vanderbilt athletics. He was instrumental in restructuring Vanderbilt's major gift program, emphasizing philanthropic giving for capital and endowment initiatives.
At Ole Miss, Ulmer will oversee the UMAA Foundation's development team, with a primary mission of reaching out to alumni, donors and fans across the state of Mississippi and around the country in an effort to secure private resources for capital projects and scholarship support.
"Our goal is to get out on the road and meet with the people who have supported us for so many years," Ulmer said. "By developing a stronger network of partners and raising the visibility of Rebel athletics throughout the state and beyond, I'm sure we will meet and exceed our expectation of standing among the most competitive programs in the nation - both athletically and academically."
Ulmer grew up in Gainesville and around the Gator football program. At the age of 13, his first assignment at UF was holding the headset cords on the sidelines for then-UF Head Football Coach Doug Dickey. After a brief time as a walk-on student-athlete on the football team in 1980, Ulmer joined the Gator Strength Complex where he worked as a student assistant strength coach.
After graduating from Florida, he took a position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as assistant strength coach for one season. He eventually found his way home to Gainesville to follow his dream of working in alumni development.
"I consider myself truly blessed to have served two great institutions, but I consider myself even luckier to have the opportunity to work on behalf of Rebel athletics," Ulmer said. "Ole Miss has the most loyal, high-spirited and generous alumni and fans of any I have ever known. I knew I was home when I arrived in
Oxford."
