Kathleen Heckman

Kathleen Heckman, who in her role as UB’s interim vice president for university advancement played a pivotal role in helping the university achieve the largest fundraising campaign in university and SUNY history, has been named vice president for university advancement, President Satish K. Tripathi announced today in a campuswide email.

Heckman’s appointment was effective Feb. 3.

Heckman is the daughter of Edwin and Susan Newcomb of Forestville and graduated from Forestville Central School in 1988. She also is a UB alumna who has also spent her entire professional career at UB. She has been serving as interim vice president for university advancement since February 2024, leading UB’s advancement team and directing the university’s philanthropy and alumni engagement efforts.

In this role, Heckman helped bring UB’s Boldly Buffalo campaign to its successful conclusion last year. The historic campaign, the largest of its kind in UB and SUNY history, brought in more than $1.1 billion in philanthropic gifts to support student success and faculty research, and to help UB make a positive impact on the many communities it serves.

“During her career, Kathleen has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to UB and our university priorities,” Tripathi said. “Through her depth of institutional knowledge, the trust and strong connections she has established with UB’s constituents near and far, and her impressive ability to communicate the primacy of philanthropy and engagement in achieving institutional goals, she has helped build and foster a culture of philanthropy that has measurably advanced our mission of excellence and impact.”

Before assuming the role of interim vice president for university advancement, Heckman served as associate vice president for advancement administration for seven years, where she led the division’s operations and served as co-director of Boldly Buffalo.

“I am deeply honored to be appointed vice president for university advancement at UB, a university that has been an integral part of my life and career,” said Heckman. “I am passionate about fostering meaningful connections with our alumni, donors and partners to advance the university’s mission of excellence and impact. Together, we will continue to build on the momentum of the Boldly Buffalo campaign and strengthen the culture of philanthropy and engagement that powers UB’s success in transforming lives and communities.”

After receiving her BA in geography in 1992, Heckman, who also holds an MBA in marketing and management from UB, worked in what is now known as University Events, planning and coordinating university-wide special events. She joined the Office of Alumni Relations in 1997, first as assistant director, then as associate director. She was named deputy to the vice president for development and alumni relations in 2003 and assistant vice president in the Office of the Vice President for Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement in 2006.

Heckman resides in Clarence with her husband, Andy, and two children, Madeline and Drew, a junior English major at UB.