University Communications 

Bunning Leaving Missouri State-West Plains for Job in Ind.

    WEST PLAINS, Mo.– Sue Bunning, Director of Development at Missouri State University-West Plains, is leaving her position with the university to accept a job in Indiana.
    Bunning recently resigned as Director of Development to accept a development position at Purdue University in West Lafayette.  Her last day on the job at Missouri State-West Plains will be Aug. 1, nearly two years after coming to the campus to fill the post.  Assistant Director of Development Joe Kammerer will serve as Interim Director of Development while university officials conduct a search for her replacement.
    “Sue Bunning was instrumental in starting our first annual giving campaign,” Bennett said.  “She has held an extremely important position on our campus.  We wish her all the best.”
    “I want to thank everyone for their support during my tenure with the university,” Bunning said.  “I have felt blessed to have come here to West Plains.  I couldn’t have asked for a friendlier community full of people who made me feel welcome and a part of the community right away.  My husband, Jim, and I both enjoyed our time here.  I’ll never forget it.”
    Bunning, who came to Missouri State-West Plains after serving as assistant director of development at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, has accepted a position as director of development for the chemical engineering department at Purdue University in West Lafayette.  “It’s a wonderful opportunity and brings me closer to family and life-long friends,” Bunning said.
    During Bunning’s tenure at Missouri State-West Plains, the campus saw the implementation of its first ever Campus Opportunities Campaign for academics which brought in over $75,000 in donations to support the most urgent needs for students and an additional $37,000 in matching funds for the new Corps of Opportunity “work-to-learn” scholarship program.  The campaign also generated a number of first-time donors to the university.  Other accomplishments include:
    • a $500,000 increase in the campus’ endowment;
    • a $200,000 increase in endowed scholarships;
    • a near record-breaking year in fund-raising gifts and pledges totaling close to $850,000;
    • establishment of an endowment for the first gift to the Corps of Opportunity program;
    • a 50 percent increase in 2008 in gifts for books and hard-copy reference materials for the Garnett Library;
    • increased membership to the Philanthropic Women (from 12 to 20 members);
    • increased representation on the Development Board (from eight to 15 members) from the campus’ seven-county primary service region;
    • record-breaking attendance at the annual Missouri State University Alumni and Friends barbecue;
    • attracting a number of new volunteers to help with the Development department’s many special events, including the annual auction, barbecue and Friends of the Garnett Library events. 
    “Missouri State-West Plains is a growing and thriving institution that is making a tremendous impact on the students who come through its doors,” she said.  “With the continued support of the community, this campus will continue to provide the educational programs that will help current and future generations of students fulfill their dreams.”