Sandi R. Bliss Named Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Engagement at Westminster College

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fulton, Mo. ‒ Jan. 23, 2025: Westminster College is pleased to announce that Sandi R. Bliss of Odessa, Texas, has been named Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Engagement.

Bliss comes to Westminster with more than 20 years of experience in fundraising, donation management, alumni and donor relations, cohesive partner development, strategic planning and team building skills. She officially stepped into her Cabinet-level position earlier this week replacing Keith Brant, who has served as the Interim Vice President of Alumni Engagement and Development since June 2023.

“It’s been my distinct pleasure to have served Westminster College for the past 20 months. I am delighted to turn over the leadership of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Engagement to Sandi who brings the talents, skills and experience needed to take the important program to the next level,” Brant said.

Bliss most recently served as Vice President of Institutional Advancement at the University of Texas Permain Basin in Odessa, where she was actively involved in growing the donor contingency from $2 million to $30 million and increased end-of-year giving in Fiscal Year 2024 by 64%.

From 2017 to 2023, Bliss was the Chief Advancement Officer for the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets in Blacksburg, Virginia. There, she reached a major campaign goal five years ahead of schedule and was noted for putting together a highly effective advancement team. Bliss was also the Senior Director of Development for Central Initiatives and Scholarships at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida (2014 to 2016), and served in a number of senior development roles for the Oklahoma State University Foundation (2008-2014) as well as the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (2004-2008).

Bliss earned an M.S. in family sciences from Oklahoma State University and a B.A. in psychology from Oklahoma State University.

Donald P. Lofe Jr., President and Chief Transformation Officer of Westminster College, recently reflected that the Office of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Affairs was rebuilt under Brant’s leadership, and he looks forward to Bliss building on the departmental foundation that Brant rebuilt.

“Keith and Sandi are both transformational in their multi-faceted approach to institutional advancement and alumni engagement within the higher education setting. On behalf of the College and the Westminster community, I am extremely grateful for Keith’s and his team’s hard work and efforts in a relatively short period of time, where he and they streamlined and recently developed a number of results-oriented processes and procedures and demonstrated outcomes and developed innovative funding campaigns,” Lofe said. “I look forward to Sandi employing the unique skills and experiences that she brings to Westminster, further building upon the Office of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Engagement departmental development.”

ABOUT WESTMINSTER COLLEGE: Founded in 1851 and home of Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech, Westminster College is ranked prestigiously by The Princeton Review as one of the “Best 150 colleges in the Midwest” for 2024. New graduates experience a more than 90% placement rate within six months of graduation, while Westminster alumni are in the top 16% nationwide for graduate earnings. The only National Liberal Arts college in Missouri, Westminster has long been recognized for its focus on educating and inspiring students to make an impact on the world around them. Find out more about Westminster College by visiting our website.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Sarah Backer at 573-220-9038 or [email protected].