The University of North Florida announced July 7 that Teresa Nichols is vice president of university development and alumni engagement and executive director of the UNF Foundation Inc.
Nichols served as University Development and Alumni Engagement interim vice president since January 2022.
A UNF alumna, she oversees fundraising operations and alumni engagement efforts for the university.
A news release said Nichols leads a team of more than 45 staff members including fundraisers in all six colleges, athletics, the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, academic and students affairs, foundation and corporate relations and planned giving, as well as the donor engagement and stewardship, alumni engagement, annual giving and advancement operations teams.
“As UNF continues to grow in size and prominence, I look forward to working with Teresa and her team. She is a great motivator and has a deep appreciation for genuine relationship building, ” UNF President Moez Limayem said in the release.
Under her leadership, the University exceeded its fiscal year 2023 fundraising goals closing out with a year-end total of almost $27 million, a 25% increase in cash and pledges over the previous year.
Over the past four years, she led staff that brought in more than $100 million for the university, the release said.
Nichols joined UNF in 2015 as a director of development for the Coggin College of Business. She later was an assistant vice president in University Development and Alumni Engagement and an associate vice president for the division.
Nichols previously was director of philanthropy at The First Tee and director of major gifts at Wounded Warrior Project, where she organized national fundraising events. Before making the change to philanthropy, Nichols worked in mortgage banking.