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News from The Foundation

2022 UTFI Board of Directors Award Recipients

The Board of Directors Award recognizes outstanding achievements by advancement staff in applying creative concepts to improving performance, advancing fundraising efforts and promoting a better understanding of the university-wide major gift fundraising activities. It is the most prestigious award a Foundation employee can receive.

Congratulations to the 2022 recipients!

Brian Broyles

Brian Broyles
Executive Director, Regional Advancement
UT Knoxville

In his eight years with the UT Foundation, Broyles has excelled through each challenge he has faced, and that success has helped him rise through the advancement team at UT Knoxville. Throughout this fiscal year, he has helped lead the regional team to the highest dollars raised at $72.8 million. Working collaboratively, Broyles raised significant dollars for multiple colleges and units, and leads by example through his emphasis on building positive relationships with peers across the campus as well as alumni. He has been personally responsible for $61 million raised over the past two fiscal years, and he is an extremely important contributor to the yearly fundraising success of his campus and the UT Foundation.

Darren Hughes
Director of User Experience
Central Services

Hughes has served as the project manager for the UT Foundation’s transition to a new CRM. To begin the process, he implemented a needs assessment committee that utilized staff, volunteers, donors and alumni to determine business needs throughout UTFI. The findings from this committee built out use case scenarios that were used throughout the vendor demonstrations. This provided staff a full view of the capabilities of each vendor. Now, as we prepare to implement ACE, Hughes is leading the charge and using the business needs discovery and change management strategies to build a smooth transition by February 2024.

Jackie Johnson

Jackie Johnson
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni and Annual Giving
UT Martin

Her colleagues at UT Martin describe Johnson as a great leader, personable, visionary, motivated and dedicated. Her vision during the pandemic led to the creation of the UTM Engagement Center in fall 2021. This effort has led to greater engagement with alumni as well as providing opportunities to enlighten current students about the need to support the campus after graduation. Her efforts helped their team surpass the fiscal year alumni engagement goal in month seven. In addition, Johnson serves on several task forces internally and externally to represent the needs of UT Martin and utilizes her knowledge of the campus and the relationships she has established as resources to call upon as she provides leadership to her department.

Ben West

Ben West
Director of Strategic Partnerships
UT Institute of Agriculture

West joined the UT Foundation in 2018 and since that time he has been directly responsible for $30 million in funds invested in UTIA programs, people and projects. In addition to philanthropic gift closures, he has led the charge towards grants and contract awards which have created essential partnerships for the work of UTIA. His efforts with the Tennessee Wildlife Federation has helped establish a stream migration credit program in partnership with Ford Motor Company’s Blue Oval City and resulted in $16.5 million invested. Through his work with the United Soybean Board, gift dollars from several major international firms has created the Children Learning Through Outdoor Experiences program.