Bill Holland set to retire as head of SEMO University Foundation

Bill Holland doesn�t seek the limelight.

In his fundraising job at Southeast Missouri State University, he prefers the spotlight be focused on the school�s donors and the accomplishments of the institution.

�I let people win alone, and we lose in a crowd,� he said, explaining his philosophy.

For Holland, the job is all about relationships.

�I enjoy the people,� said Holland, who serves as vice president for university advancement and executive director of the university�s foundation.

Bill Holland, vice president for university advancement and executive director of Southeast Missouri University Foundation, poses for a photo inside the Wehking Alumni Center's Kem Statuary Hall on Tuesday in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

After nearly nine years in that role and a dozen years in all working for the university, Holland has announced he will retire March 31. Trudy Lee, assistant vice president for university advancement, will serve as interim vice president until the school permanently fills the position.

In a letter to alumni and foundation board members earlier this year, university president Carlos Vargas-Aburto expressed thanks for Holland�s �unwavering commitment and dedicated service� to the university and the foundation.

Holland said he has enjoyed his job, but it is time to leave. He credited his father with giving him good advice to not keep a position �one election too long.�

While not an elected office, Holland said the advice holds true for any career.

But Holland said he will miss working with his staff and the school�s loyal donors.

Bill Holland, vice president for university advancement and executive director of Southeast Missouri University Foundation, poses for a photo in his office Tuesday in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

Holland said he has met Southeast alumni and supporters whom he described as �talented, successful people from all walks of life.�

Holland said the school�s alumni are �so proud of the university.�

The school�s chief fundraiser said he rarely is seen in publicity photos for the university.

�In this position, it is not about my ego,� Holland said. �My job is to connect donors with the university in the right way.�

Holland said university fundraising is �bigger than one person. This place will be here long after I am gone.�

Bill Holland, vice president for university advancement and executive director of Southeast Missouri University Foundation, poses for a photo in his office Tuesday in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

He credits the success to a �wonderful group of professionals� in university advancement at Southeast.

�It is easy to get excited about coming into work every day,� Holland said.

He readily doles out praise for his staff.

�I believe in four-minute praisings and one-minute corrections,� Holland said.

He began working for Southeast as director of corporate relations in the university�s then St. Louis office in August 2005.

�I was up there a little over three years,� Holland said.

Holland has worked for two Southeast presidents who valued fundraising efforts � Ken Dobbins and now Vargas.

The foundation raised more than $49 million in a three-year fundraising campaign that ended in 2015, he said. �We had a phenomenally successful campaign.�

Holland said social media has made it easier to reach out to university supporters and new donors.

Holland said most of the fundraising is focused not on buildings, but scholarships.

�We give out $1.8 million in annual scholarships,� he said. �That means a lot to our students.�

Before joining Southeast, he worked for Southwestern Bell for 18 years and 12 years with his wife�s family business, John Volpi & Co., a meat business in St Louis.

But Holland said he considers his job as head of the university foundation as the high point of his professional career.

�I am very humbled and blessed by this,� he said.

Holland said he and his wife, Angela, plan to move back to the St. Louis area where their three children and five grandchildren reside.

But he added he and his wife still plan to keep close ties to Cape Girardeau.

�We have friends in both places, and we don�t intend to give them up,� he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

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