Meet...Pat Branam

“Fundraising isn’t a sprint- it’s more like a marathon.” So says Pat Branam, who recently assumed what she describes as the “plum job of leading fundraising for McMicken College.” Branam’s official title is Senior Director of Development.

She can’t wait to begin her new job: “My short term goals include getting a grip on the breadth of UC’s core college and building a fundraising team to pursue the resources our students and faculty need and deserve. I’ve been very excited and thankful for the enthusiastic welcome I’ve received. Now we need to convert our energy into friends, donors, and gifts to support our work.”

Energy may be Branam’s most outstanding characteristic. When she left her native Tennessee in 1970 to travel as a new bride to Cincinnati, she had no idea what was in store for her. She spent more than a decade as a legal assistant before coming to UC in 1990 and beginning her university career as secretary of the Development Director at the College of Law. Eventually she worked her way to the positions of Development Coordinator, Assistant Director, and finally Director of Development.

Such rapid progress would exhaust most people, but not Pat Branam. For the last fourteen years she has served on the Deer Park Board of Education while raising a family, working, and taking classes at UC. Today she depicts herself as a person with “three cats, two young- adult kids, and one husband. But it’s clear that family and pets haven’t been her only concern.

“Big” is the adjective she uses to describe last summer: “After many years pursuing a degree, while having a life, I earned my BS summa cum laude.” She also acquired other experience and credentials during those years. A sabbatical from the university gave her the opportunity to work as Director of Annual Giving for the Greater Cincinnati YMCAs, an experience that taught her “a great deal about fundraising.” “Even more thrilling,” she adds, “was passing on the first sitting my national boards in fundraising. There are only 4,500 Certified Fundraising Executives in the country, so I was excited to add CFRE to my credentials.”

Branam recalls, “When I shook Dean Gould’s hand last June I had no idea that a year later I would join the administrative team at my favorite college.” One point is clear, however. When you meet Pat Branam, you know that her “favorite college” is lucky to have her on board.