Alumna Promoted to Assistant Vice President of Principal Gifts at UMD

Following a Decade of Service in the Division of University Relations, Susan Smith ’86 Was Recognized For Her Fundraising and Leadership Efforts

“When I came to the University of Maryland, I thought ‘I’m going to have a career in government and politics, and I am going to help change the world and make people’s lives better,’” Susan Smith ’86 said.

Smith accomplished the first part of her goal; she graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the Department of Government and Politics in 1986, and then led a 30-year career working alongside Maryland senators, a governor, a county executive, and during election cycles as a campaign consultant. The second part of her goal she continues to live out every day as the Assistant Vice President of Principal Gifts on the University of Maryland Division of University Relations’ team.

Smith, who was formerly UMD’s Executive Director for Leadership Engagement and Principal Gifts, was appointed to her current position at the start of the spring 2026 semester. But she doesn’t see the title change as a reason to celebrate her accomplishments alone.

“The promotion is a recognition of the fact that the principal gifts team, my colleagues and I, have together developed a unit that is adding value back to our other colleagues,” Smith said. “That part—being able to say, ‘Hey guys, look what we did. We’re giving back and we are making an impact.’–that felt great. At the end of your life that’s what you want to say, that you gave back and you made an impact.”

The desire to better the lives of those around her was a value that was instilled in Smith from a young age.

“My brother is 11 years older than me, and he was a very active student organizer. He took me to protests, we had campaign signs in the basement from things he was working on, including some protests with one of the guys from the ‘Chicago Seven’ … so growing up with a notion that we are all here to lift each other up, it spoke to me,” Smith said.

Smith was an active member of her high school’s Student Government Association, and she didn’t hesitate to get involved when she came to UMD, either. In addition to working two jobs, Smith participated in the College Democrats student group, in what’s currently called TerpThon, and she also acted as a Resident Assistant (RA) in Easton Hall during her senior year.

“Being an RA on campus was one of the highlights of my life,” Smith, who was presented with an “RA of the Year” award that year, said. “Working with students and being there to support my colleagues is a really important memory to me.”

Another important memory of Smith’s is the one that helped her launch her decadeslong career in government and politics: A friend who was a part of the College Republicans student group recommended that Smith take the job that he was leaving on Capitol Hill, and that’s where Smith worked in the months leading up to graduation and roughly eight years afterward for two different Maryland senators, Charles “Mac” Matthias and Barbara Mikulski.

“Senator Mikulski was my mentor. She had a burning desire to serve, and she brought me to the table and showed me how to be successful at it,” said Smith.

After another few years, Smith answered a call to serve on the Parris N. Glendening campaign for governor. After Glendening was elected, Smith served as Senior Advisor to the Governor and eventually became the Assistant Secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. She then spent time with her young children and consulted on a variety of campaigns before stepping back into full-time service as Deputy County Administrator for friend and fellow BSOS Terp Ken Ulman, GVPT ’97.

When Ulman’s term ended, Smith was ready for a change.

“I started looking around, and some people said to me ‘Why don’t you work at Maryland? You love Maryland,’” recalled Smith. “Maryland gave me a great, decadeslong career that I loved every second of, so I started thinking maybe I could give back to Maryland. I personally need a mission, a cause, something that impacts others—that’s why I went into politics—and Maryland is a great cause. From helping students who wouldn't otherwise have a chance to go to college do what they love, to supporting the brilliance that our faculty bring to change the world, to our President and Provost leading us in impacting our family at Maryland, the College Park community, the state, the nation and the world, that’s a pretty great cause to be associated with.”

Smith says that her background in government and politics has lent itself well to her work at UMD, particularly from an organizational standpoint.

“I learned how governments work, and we are like a mini city at Maryland. It feels like we are a city government, like the seat of city hall is the main admin, we have the mayor and vice mayor, all the schools and units are like different departments … it is all set up in a very familiar way to me,” Smith said. “As a student at Maryland my mentors also taught me how to present myself, how to speak up and when to speak up, and that all came with me to this role. Those kinds of soft skills only happen when the adults around you care about you and you know it, and they did, and that’s one of the reasons I am so grateful for this place.”

To help ensure current students look back on their time at UMD feeling similarly grateful, Smith offers this advice: “Put yourself out there and take advantage of every opportunity which allows you to connect to people who may impact you in ways you can’t imagine—no task is too small, no project is too small because it gives you the opportunity to make lasting connections. It is who you know and who you meet along the way that make your life rich, so be open, be kind, be courteous, be curious, work hard, and everything will fall into place.”

Published on Mon, Jul 27, 2026 - 9:55AM