Then & Now: Fundraising career brings Brunen back to Arkansas

Editor’s Note: The following story appeared in the Feb. 26 issue of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. “Then & Now” is a profile of a past member of the Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 class.

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Meredith Brunen has helped raise millions for colleges and universities for nearly two decades. The philosophy that guides her is simple.

“It’s all about relationships,” she said. “It’s about connecting people with their passions and the institution.”

Later this year, she’ll be using that tried-and-true approach for Hendrix College. In January, the private liberal arts college in Conway, with an enrollment of 1,045 this semester, announced Brunen as its next vice president of advancement. Her first day is May 1.

Brunen spent the past four years as vice president for advancement and CEO of UWG Foundations at the University of West Georgia, which will transition this summer to join NCAA Division I as a member of the Athletic Sun Conference. UWG has an enrollment of nearly 13,000.

Under Brunen’s leadership, UWG had its most successful fundraising year in history, including a 156% year-over-year increase and the institution’s largest gift ever. She also played a crucial role in securing a $1 million gift to establish the Stone Center for Family Business, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation.

“The relationships we’ve built here these four years have been invaluable,” she said. “Working with such a talented group of team members, board members and community leaders has been a privilege. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished here in the past few years.”

In Conway, Brunen will join the senior leadership team supporting Hendrix President Karen Petersen, who became the college’s 13th president in June 2023.

“She is a very innovative person who is at the right place at the right time to help evolve the institution,” Brunen said. “She’s going to do a great job taking Hendrix into the future and set it up for success for decades.”

A Fayetteville native, Brunen’s career took her to Florida in the fall of 2016 and later to South Carolina and Georgia. She is excited about returning to her home state for professional and personal reasons.

“We have family in both central Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas, so we get the best of both worlds with this [move],” she said. “We’ve been all across the southeast, but it feels good to have the opportunity to come home.”

From 2007 to 2016, Brunen worked for NorthWest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville and was the school’s top development officer. The Northwest Arkansas Business Journal recognized her as a 2012 Forty Under 40 honoree.

After a successful career at NWACC, from 2016 to 2020, Brunen held cabinet-level fundraising roles at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg and the University of West Florida in Pensacola.

Her fundraising milestones from those jobs include a $1.6 million legacy gift to support international travel for business students (USC Upstate), a $3 million scholarship endowment for immigrants and refugees (UWF) and a $15 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation for Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food (NWACC).

In higher education, the fundraising always continues, Brunen said.

“If you’re not in the middle of a campaign, you’re setting up for one in the advancement world,” she said. “We know that will come [to Hendrix] in the next little bit.”

Because of her achievements, Brunen was named Young Woman of the Year by the Northwest Arkansas Business Women’s Conference in 2014. She was also named the Outstanding Young Alumni of the Year by the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professionals in 2019.

Brunen earned three degrees from the UA, including a doctorate in higher education (2012), a master’s degree in higher education (2005) and a bachelor’s degree in international relations and Middle East studies (2003).

She said the ability to evolve and pivot quickly is essential for today’s higher education leaders. Communicating the value of higher education is also critical.

“The ability to tell the story is really crucial for [higher education] leaders of today,” she said. “You have to create a compelling case for people to understand why they need to support education. I think it’s probably the most important.”

Brunen is married to Kyle Brunen, a health and wellness professional and a UA graduate. They have two young sons, Jude and Beau.