Whether it was selling chocolate bars or wrapping paper, Andrea Angel wanted to win, even as a youngster.
“The competitive nature I grew up with — wanting to see and exceed a goal — that’s just me.”
Luckily for Indiana State, when Angel wins, so do Sycamores. That’s because she’s the new vice president for University Advancement and CEO of the ISU Foundation.
“Advancement matches a passion for wanting students to have the most they can have and for faculty to have the resources they need and the university to be the best it can be with my competitive spirit of ‘What can we do here?’ ‘How can we inspire alumni and friends to give back?’” she said.
“Advancement professionals are facilitators. We bring alumni and donors back to engage them with our university. From speaking to classes, mentoring students, meeting a dean or university leader, we help build a lasting relationship.”
As associate vice chancellor for alumni and development at UA-Little Rock, Angel oversaw a team of professionals responsible for raising $17 million dollars in private support in fiscal year 2017, increasing to $18 million dollars in fiscal year 2018, the fourth and third highest years on record at the university, respectively.
With so much success, why the move to Terre Haute?
“The mission of Indiana State University is what drew me to this position,” she said. “I want to work for a university that supports first-generation college students, a university that understands you may not have that perfect SAT score (and that’s OK!), and a university that works to offer students valuable experiences that can make them ready to succeed in the workplace.”
State’s mission drew her in — that, and its people. During her interview, Angel saw “everyone is very committed to the institution and wants to do the best for the students, faculty and staff.”
She sees “incredible opportunities” for State. Angel is thankful for a strong advancement team and the leadership that came before her, including Doug Smith who served as interim vice president. “A lot of groundwork was laid before I even arrived. That was important to me because it showed the university was invested in advancement and that advancement is invested in this university,” she said.
In the world of higher ed philanthropy, the schools with the largest endowments are often private institutions with very high academic standards.
“That hurts my soul a little bit. If you think about the students who really need financial support, it’s the students at Indiana State University — that first-generation college student, someone who is motivated to change the course of their entire family with that college degree is someone who needs our support,” Angel said.
“Our job in University Advancement is to tell that story and to make sure our alumni understand the importance of giving back to Indiana State University and the impact their gift is making. It’s not just a gift to help grow the endowment; it’s a gift to change X number of students’ lives. So, it’s incumbent on us doing the right things so a person who invests in Indiana State feel the impact of their gift.”
Prior to her previous role at Little Rock, Angel worked as senior director of development in the Office of Alumni and Development, 2015-2016; director of development and external Affairs for the UA-Little Rock College of Business, 2013-2015; and director of athletic development/senior woman administrator, 2005-2013. Prior to joining the UA-Little Rock development staff in 2005, she worked in sales for Southern Coating and Nameplate and Vector Marketing Corporation.
A native of Daleville, Ind., Angel earned a bachelor’s in business administration in 2003 and an MBA in 2018 from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. She was named the 2003 Marketing Student of the Year and served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as a member of the golf team.
But those accomplishments would more difficult had she not been recruited for her athletic ability. Her mom was a teacher, and dad worked in residential construction — noble professions but not the kind where they could pay cash for a full-cost college education.
“If I had not had the opportunity to play a sport in college, I would have had to take out loans and graduate with who-knows-how-much debt,” Angel said. “Even though I wasn’t first generation, I was what you would call the motivated middle — blue collar and middle class, which describes many of our students at ISU. Even if they’re not receiving Pell Grants, that doesn’t mean their family is able to provide them everything they need for college. There’s a lot we can do with that middle-class student, that person who is motivated, who maybe has one parent with a college degree but the cost of college is still a financial burden. There’s so much we can do to help students here.”
When Angel isn’t working to make wins for State students, she’s either on the golf course with her husband, David, or hanging out with their daughter Annabel, 7, and Winston the weimeraner, 10.
“They’re my world,” she said. “It’s so important to have balance in life. When I get home, if I have two or three hours with my daughter, that’s her time. I really like to have that. In the advancement world, you have a lot of events, nights, weekends, so to make sure she has her time and my husband has his time is very important to me.”
Annabel is a first grader at Lost Creek Elementary. “Once people meet her, they’ll say she’s just like her mom,” Angel said. “She’s very outgoing and spunky. She’s a leader.”
