Heather K. McDonald has recently joined the Neag School of Education as director of development. In her new role, she will be participate in strategic planning for the college’s fundraising, aiming to secure major and principal gift level commitments.  Since 2008 at the UConn Foundation, McDonald was an associate director of development of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

“I am very excited about Heather joining the Neag School as our new development officer,” said Dean Thomas C. DeFranco. “Heather brings a wealth of experience as a fundraiser and has studied and worked in higher education. We are very fortunate to have someone with her talent and background join us.”

“Coming from my last position,” McDonald said, “I know how important it is to learn about the departments, programs, faculty and students. I look forward to meeting people and learning about all the intricacies Neag has to offer. My role as director of development is to help in fundraising but it’s all about relationships. I hope to build upon the great work of those who’ve come before me and I look forward to an exciting future. We have a terrific dean and amazingly talented faculty. I know alumni and friends will want to support the Neag School of Education.”

McDonald first joined UConn in 2000 as a residence hall director in the Department of Residential Life. She went on to supervise two Higher Education and Student Affairs graduate students, oversaw the Honors Community and implemented the new First Year Learning Communities as a community director for Academic/Learning Communities. She later joined the UConn Foundation as program director for Constituent Groups in the Office of Annual Giving, where she was then promoted to the interim director of Annual Giving. In addition to her B.A. in Women’s Studies from the State University of New York at New Paltz, McDonald earned her M.Ed. with a concentration in administration and supervision from the University of Hartford and a graduate certificate in nonprofit leadership and management from UConn.

McDonald is the recipient of the 2004 Women’s Issues Outstanding Achievement Award. She was a 2001 Case Study Award Winner in Northeast Associations of College and University Housing Officers and was inducted into the Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education in 2000. McDonald has served as a chair and board member of the Women’s Center Advisory Board since 2007 and was involved in the UConn Alumni Association, both as a reunion and gala committee member.