Get to Know Jeff Sands

Those who attended UAH theatre’s season opener “The Rimers of Eldritch” might recognize Dr. Jeffrey Sands. But far from being the stage rookie, Sands has his Ph.D. in theatre history and criticism. It was during his graduate years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign that he became friends with David Harwell, then an MFA student. This friendship was renewed when Sands came to Huntsville last year to become UAH’s vice president for university advancement.

The Office of University Advancement directly or indirectly connects to the Power of 10 goals. These include achieving $100 million in annual endowments and through the Office of Corporate Relations, placing students in at least a 1,000 co-ops and internships. Sands states that this is possible only through the support from UAH alumni, the corporate community and friends of the university.

Sands brings over 25 years of experience in university administration and fundraising to his demanding job, but modestly calls it “good preparation.” He describes UAH as a “young institution” with a small alumni population. This, he believes, will change over time. Also, traditionally, many alumni were part-time graduate students whose loyalties were also divided among their undergraduate schools.

“There are challenges everywhere now – fundraising, nationwide, has been badly hit,” he said, referring to the recession. For him, this is the “building phase, of trying to raise [the] level of consciousness among our alumni, among our students and among the community.”

Emphasizing the need for universities to provide a greater value to alumni, he said the university was now offering “free lifetime career support to all alumni.” He hopes that this will help build stronger bonds with alumni.
He looks to the Base Realignment and Closure transfers with optimism, observing that this could provide a strong support for students. “The success of BRAC is absolutely essential to the success of UAHuntsville, as it is for the rest of North Alabama,” he said.

New sources of support are also an area of focus. The recent appointment of Dr. Michael Griffin has brought connections that were not available before. He hopes that the new deans to be appointed for the college of engineering and the college of business will be able to build more such networks. He stressed the role of the deans, stating that there is a need for a commitment from them toward strengthening the university’s relations with the community.

Given his background in theatre, it is no surprise that he has been asked to teach a course in theatre history in the spring 2010 semester. “Work comes first,” he says, but “[I hope] President Williams will be understanding.” He often finds himself daydreaming about the opportunities while at his desk, and said it helped to have the Power of 10 board hanging over his head.