Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement Staff

Summer Bacon graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2000 with a degree in Management Information Systems and again in 2016 with her Master of Science in Education degree. During her undergraduate career, Summer worked as a student worker in the Office of the Provost. Beginning in 2002, she held various positions at SIU Carbondale for the Provost and Chancellor, including in University Events and Protocol and in the office of the Associate Provost for Academic Administration. She most recently served as the Director of Stewardship at the SIU Foundation.
 
Summer joined WKU in January 2017 as the Director of Donor Engagement. In this role she serves as the institution's chief stewardship and donor relations officer and directs the university's programmatic engagement of contributors, a population including the Society of 1906 for planned giving, President's Circle for leadership annual giving, Cupola Society for consecutive giving and the WKU Sisterhood, a membership society which annually collects and grants funds to deserving university faculty, staff, and student projects. Summer plays a key role in sustaining rich communication and engagement with these populations as well as the Board of Advisors, Campaign Cabinet, and other development-oriented entities. Additionally, she conducts ongoing personal solicitations of gifts from the WKU Sisterhood, other societies, and special giving constituencies. In 2022, she became the Senior Director of Donor Engagement.