July 01, 2008
Pfeffer again elected Foundation board president
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Pamela Pfeffer, a Nashville resident, was recently elected to a second term as the SIU Foundation Board of Directors president, effective July 1.
Pfeffer began her service on the SIU Foundation board in 1995. The volunteer board governs the activities of the Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization that provides alumni and friends a means to invest in the future of the University. Established in 1942, the Foundation solicits and administers gifts from private sources in support of SIU Carbondale’s academic mission. Private funding is generated through annual giving, planned giving, major giving, corporate and foundation relations and campaigns.
Pfeffer has also served on the steering committee for the Opportunity Through Excellence Campaign for Southern. The capital campaign seeks to raise at least $100 million in support of SIU Carbondale. Pfeffer says raising private funds will continue to be a priority during her second term as Foundation president.
“Public funds are getting more limited and the cost of education is escalating,” Pfeffer says. “The only way to create more opportunities for students is to generate revenue via private donations. Alumni and friends of SIU are stepping up as this continues to be a major need.”
Rickey N. McCurry, vice chancellor for institutional advancement and CEO of the SIU Foundation, says the organization is fortunate to have a leader like Pfeffer.
“Pam continues to serve as an outstanding leader on many fronts, including her involvement in this University’s first-ever comprehensive campaign,” McCurry says. “We are truly pleased and excited that she will continue serving as president for a second year.”
Pfeffer says strategic planning initiatives, establishing support of the Saluki Way campaign and coordinating efforts with University constituencies to foster progress of various initiatives are primary objectives that she will continue to focus on during her second term.
Pfeffer and her husband, Phil, a former Foundation and Alumni Association board member, are life members of the SIU Alumni Association. Pfeffer received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Southern in 1967, and attained a master’s degree in teaching mathematics at Vanderbilt University in 1968. Her grandfather, Lindell Sturgis, served on the SIU Board of Trustees for 30 years, and chaired the board from 1969 to 1971.
She was a mathematics instructor at the former University of Tennessee-Nashville before commencing a career in the banking industry as a lending officer and branch manager at Nashville National Bank. Pfeffer is currently active with the Nashville Symphony Association, the national board of Reading Is Fundamental in Washington, D.C., and Christ Presbyterian Church.
The Pfeffers have three grown children, John-Lindell, James, and David, and three grandchildren.