Dan Miller Named Bumpers College Director of Development

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Dan Miller begins his role with Bumpers College next week.

Dan Miller, who has experience raising funds across Arkansas and around the country, has been named director of development and external relations for U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. 

Miller has spent the last eight years as the senior regional resource development director for The Salvation Army of Arkansas/Oklahoma. In that role, he has worked across Northwest Arkansas, as well as nationally, to develop fundraising programs and build new relationships to support its work.

In that time, his accomplishments include top fundraising rankings within The Salvation Army's major giving program, raising nearly $17 million for Arkansas communities over the last eight years.

"Dan has had tremendous success building relationships and generating funding, and we're happy to have him in Bumpers College and looking forward to getting him out to meet people," said interim Dean Jean-Francois Meullenet. "Our supporters will enjoy getting to know and working with Dan, and he will do a great job helping stakeholders find opportunities to partner with us in ways that meet their goals of supporting students, student services, faculty, staff and programs. I'm excited for Dan to get started, but also want to thank Lea-Ann Pummill for her efforts on an interim basis and assisting with the transition."

Miller has managed individual, foundation and corporate donor cultivation and stewardship, and spearheaded needed capital improvement fundraising projects with Benton and Washington counties.

During his time at The Salvation Army, he has been a leader in establishing and developing corporate and foundation fundraising strategies nationally to support emergency disaster services philanthropy within the organization, working with the Walmart Foundation and other Fortune 500 companies throughout the U.S.

"I am excited and honored to join the team at Bumpers College and the University of Arkansas," Miller said. "I look forward to helping share the mission and work of our students and faculty with our donors and friends." 

Prior to joining The Salvation Army, Miller was a blood program consultant with the Arkansas Blood Institute and has held various roles at other non-profits. He currently serves as president-elect of the Northwest Arkansas Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and has operated Hazel Valley Farms in Fayetteville since 2016. He earned a degree in parks and resource management from Slippery Rock University in 2005.

He begins June 26. Pummill, executive director for development with U of A's University Development, has served as Bumpers College's interim director of development since the fall.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.