Marrie Neumer Joins USF Sarasota-Manatee’s Office of Advancement

Marrie Neumer has joined USF Sarasota-Manatee’s Office of Advancement as senior director of development. She began her new position on Jan. 2.

“I’m very excited for this opportunity at USFSM,” Neumer said. “It’s clear the university plays a critical role in the surrounding community, and I look forward to engaging with existing and new philanthropic partners to support our university priorities.”

The Office of Advancement oversees fundraising support for the campus, including such signature events as Brunch on the Bay, a scholarship fundraiser for students. She joins Vice Chancellor for Advancement Lee Williams, Associate Director of Development Clara Reynardus de Villanueva and Pam Gleason, executive administrative assistant and development specialist.

“With more than 15 years of direct university fundraising and fundraising leadership experience, Marrie is the perfect addition to our team and to the community,” Williams said in welcoming Neumer.

Neumer previously worked as a major gifts officer at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Her entire career has been spent on college campuses – first in athletics and then in fundraising and alumni engagement at Cornell.

Neumer grew up in Rochester, New York, and received a bachelor’s degree at the College of Wooster (Ohio). A four-time NCAA Division III All-American swimmer, she went on to pursue a master’s in exercise physiology at Springfield College (Massachusetts) and spent the next two decades coaching swimmers at Springfield College, the University of Rochester, the University at Buffalo and Cornell University.

While at Cornell in 2003, Neumer moved from athletics to fundraising and alumni engagement, where she helped support the university’s strategic priorities, including fundraising for scholarships, hiring faculty and enhancing the student experience.

Neumer also led fundraising for the new wing at Cornell’s I.M. Pei-designed art museum and was instrumental in completing the campaign to build Bill & Melinda Gates Hall, which houses Computing and Information Science at Cornell.

During her tenure as head of development at Cornell’s Johnson Art Museum, Neumer first visited Sarasota, hosting tours of the Ringling Museum of Art for Cornell alumni in the region.

“I fell in love with Sarasota,” she said. “The city’s arts community and culture are so vibrant, I couldn’t wait to return.”

Her love of the area led Neumer and her partner, Julie Waters, to invest in a condominium in downtown Sarasota in 2011, where they have since enjoyed visiting the city and surrounding areas annually. She said it seemed “too good to be true” when an opportunity arose to join USFSM’s advancement team.

“I am excited to jump right in at USFSM,” she said. “My own college experience changed my life and gave me a passion for paying it forward. Working in higher education–both as a coach and a fundraiser–has allowed me to help students, faculty and engaged alumni pursue intellectual enrichment and personal growth. There’s nothing more inspiring than that.”

Visit usfsm.edu/giving/support-usfsm.aspx to learn how to support USF Sarasota-Manatee. Write to marrieneumer@sar.usf.edu to contact Neumer directly.

For more about USF Sarasota-Manatee, visit www.usfsm.edu.