Published on July 6, 2020

Updated on April 13, 2023

Dear campus community,

It is my pleasure to announce today that I have named Jackie Lewis the next vice chancellor for advancement at Mizzou. She will come to MU after serving as vice president of University Relations at the University of Maryland in College Park.

At the University of Maryland, Lewis led a team of 300 professionals and spearheaded the execution of Fearless Ideas: The Campaign for Maryland. She was responsible for securing a $220 million gift, the largest in the university’s history. She also led her team to two of the university’s three highest fundraising performance years.

Lewis brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience that I believe will take MU’s Office of Advancement to the next level. She is a proven leader of securing support for a public university, even in the midst of challenging times. We are excited to welcome her to Mizzou.

Lewis starts her new position on Aug. 12, but she will participate in some university activities prior to that date. She replaces Tom Hiles, who announced his retirement in August 2019, and led Mizzou: Our Time to Lead, a comprehensive campaign that surpassed its goal of raising $1.3 billion to support and advance the educational and research missions of the university.

We have experienced tremendous fundraising success at MU in the past. The institution recently celebrated multiple record-breaking years of giving. Our university is stronger because of the work of advancement, and we believe Lewis will continue to build on the strong foundation that has been created.

I’m very grateful for the hard work of our search committee, led by Rhonda Gibler, vice chancellor for finance, and Lyrissa Lidsky, dean of MU’s School of Law. The committee did a great job in finding our next leader of advancement.

As vice chancellor of advancement at MU, Lewis will oversee 180 employees, including 62 major gift officers. Lewis and her team will continue to invest in relationships by strengthening engagement, cultivating partnerships and building a pipeline of support. She will continue work to invest in the future by championing inclusion, diversity and equity, and embracing innovation.

In addition to growing philanthropic investment in the broad missions and goals of the university, including student access and success, the advancement division will continue to focus on identifying individual donors and private-public support for the NextGen Precision Health Institute, the university’s top capital priority.

Among Lewis’ many accomplishments in fundraising for academic medical centers, her team at the University of Iowa secured a $45 million commitment supporting the creation of a neuroscience institute and a $25 million gift to name a new children’s hospital.

Lewis will be a major asset to the university and to our university community, and her experience in health care fundraising will be invaluable.

Please join me in welcoming Jackie Lewis to Mizzou!

Sincerely,

Mun Y. Choi, Ph.D.
President, UM System and Interim Chancellor, University of Missouri