Dumpson named to senior UMES leadership post
PRINCESS ANNE, MD. - (Sept. 14, 2012) - Kimberly Conway Dumpson of Salisbury was named today to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s senior leadership post responsible for fund-raising, alumni affairs and communications.
UMES President Juliette B. Bell formally announced Dumpson’s appointment as Vice President for Institutional Advancement in a note circulated across campus and to the university’s friends and supporters.
Dumpson was UMES’ alumni affairs director and is widely recognized for her work in building and expanding the network connecting graduates to their alma mater. Earlier this year, UMES’ athletics department named her its “Hawk of the Year” in recognition of her work as the university’s leading alumni liaison.
Dumpson fills the job vacated by Gains B. Hawkins Jr., who retired in August after nine years leading the university’s fund-raising efforts.
As Institutional Advancement vice president, Dumpson will answer directly to Bell and be one of her senior advisers.
“In the short time Kim and I have worked together,” Bell said, “I have been impressed by her boundless energy and enthusiasm, her work ethic and her ability to communicate with the broad spectrum of constituencies on our campus and beyond its borders.”
Dumpson is a Wicomico County native who graduated from James M. Bennett High School and earned an undergraduate degree in political science and sociology from Towson University in 1990. Her law degree is from Ohio Northern University.
In addition to practicing law in Bethesda, Salisbury and Upper Marlboro, she also was the executive director of the Life Crisis Center in Salisbury and worked as executive assistant to Wicomico County’s social services director.
She holds a Certificate in Fund Raising Management from Indiana University and is a “Certified Fund Raising Executive,” an international credential signifying she meets the profession’s highest educational and conduct standards.
Dumpson, who is also a graphic designer, has overseen the university’s visual identity program and has been responsible for creating many of the images and designs to promote the university, its programs and events. In her spare time, she enjoys doing genealogical research and has traced her family’s roots to Colonial times.
Since joining UMES as alumni affairs director seven years ago, Dumpson had a pivotal role in securing more than $1 million in gifts, including the single largest alumni gift in university history, $350,000.
Her civic and community work, which includes memberships in the Salisbury Rotary Club, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Princess Anne Chapter of the Links, Inc. earned her recognition in 2010 as a “Hometown Hero” from Gov. Martin O’Malley. She also is a board member of Maryland Capital Enterprises and president of Wicomico High School’s Parent Teacher Association.
Dumpson is married to educator Jeffrey Dumpson, dean of students at Parkside High School. The couple has two children, Taylor and Jeffrey, II.
Bill Robinson, director, UMES Office of Public Relations, (410) 621-2355.