College of Engineering Announces New Assistant, Associate Directors of Development

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Tory Gaddy and Julie Olsen.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Tory Gaddy and Julie Olsen have both been promoted to fill positions in the College of Engineering’s Office of External Relations. Olsen will serve as associate director of development and Gaddy will be the assistant director. Both have previous fundraising experience on the University of Arkansas campus and will report to Kellie Knight, senior director of development and external relations.

“We are delighted to have Tory and Julie as part of our fundraising team,” said Dean John English. “They each bring unique skill sets to the Office of External Relations and will do an excellent job working with our alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students. Kellie has put together a wonderful team, and I look forward to seeing what they accomplish for the College of Engineering.”

Olsen has been with the University of Arkansas since 2013, when she joined the College of Education and Health Professions as their associate director of development. In this role, she was responsible for the strategic planning, identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of a portfolio of major-giving donors and served as the staff liaison for the college’s Dean’s Advisory Council.

Prior to joining the university, Olsen worked as the director of development for the EOA Children’s House in Springdale and the annual giving director for the Walton Arts Center. She has extensive experience working with volunteers and in communications and marketing.

“The College of Engineering has a rich history of loyal and generous support from its engineering alumni,” said Olsen. “I look forward to contributing to the university’s fundraising success by learning of their passions for the College of Engineering and sharing opportunities for them to have a significant impact on the lives of our students, faculty and programs well into the future.”

Olsen holds a bachelor’s degree from Hastings College in Nebraska and a master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin Butler School of Music. She regularly volunteers in the Northwest Arkansas community, and has held leadership positions with the P.E.O. Chapter BI in Springdale, the First United Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville, the Springdale Rotary and the Alzheimer’s Association of NWA.

Gaddy is a University of Arkansas alumna who holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. She joined the university in 2012 as an administrative support supervisor in University Development and was promoted to development manager for the College of Engineering in 2013.

In her role as development manager, Gaddy coordinated the college’s Dean’s Advisory Council and campaign committee, planned and executed the alumni award banquet, made improvements to the college’s scholarship process and helped jumpstart the development of a Young Engineering Alumni Society.

“I am excited and ready to embrace the goals for the College of Engineering in this new capacity,” said Gaddy. “It’s an honor to be a part of this development team and in a position to see the impact engineering donors are making in the lives of our students and faculty. I am humbled by the generosity of our alumni who care deeply about the College of Engineering and the University of Arkansas, and I look forward to working more closely with them in the future.”

Prior to her experience at the university, Gaddy spent two years as the junior high youth director for the First United Methodist Church in Fort Smith and ten years as the owner of Fox Faux and Murals, also in Fort Smith. In her free time, she works as an artist and instructor at Painting with a Twist in Fayetteville and Bentonville.

“Julie and Tory will excel in their new roles, and we are excited to see how they will grow,” said Katy Nelson-Ginder, assistant vice chancellor for development. “They have each shown enthusiasm, passion and innovation at the university, and we know they are poised to accomplish great things for the College of Engineering. Both are very deserving of their new positions and will be excellent resources for alumni and friends of the college.”

Olsen began her position as associate director of development in September 2014, and Gaddy will assume her new role on January 5, 2015.