WCU Stories      January 12, 2023

Stacey R. Miller, former associate athletics director for student success at Western Carolina University, has been named the university’s next director of alumni engagement.

The appointment of Miller, currently an instructor of sport management in WCU’s College of Business,  is effective Jan. 1. She is filling a vacancy created by the October retirement of Marty Ramsey, who had served as director of alumni engagement since 2003 and is the longest-serving alumni engagement director in school history.

Miller will be part of the Division of Advancement’s Office of Engagement, reporting to James Hogan, a 2003 graduate of WCU who serves as assistant vice chancellor for engagement.

“Stacey bleeds purple and gold, and her energy and commitment to Western will drive our efforts to engage with alumni,” Hogan said. “It’s never easy to follow in the footsteps of someone like Marty Ramsey, but Stacey arrives with a deep network of Catamounts, a critical understanding of WCU’s mission and a wealth of experience implementing world-class programs on our campus.”

She was selected for the position following a national search led by a committee composed of WCU staff and alumni, including Allison Hinson, president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors.

“Stacey has fully invested herself in the campus and local community since her arrival in Cullowhee 12 years ago,” said Hinson, a 2002 WCU graduate. “I am confident that her energy and passion for the university will strengthen the foundation of our Alumni Association and further the efforts to forge relationships with Western’s alumni, friends and students.”

Miller served as associate athletics director for student success and senior woman administrator for Catamount athletics from 2010 until joining the faculty in the School of Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Sport Management, and Hospitality and Tourism Management this fall.

Being part of the leadership team in the athletics program and serving as a faculty member working directly with students in the classroom, combined with past experiences as a head coach and a student-athlete, will provide a solid foundation for working with the university’s diverse alumni base, Miller said.

“I am thrilled to join such an experienced unit and I am excited to bring my skills to the university Advancement team in engaging WCU alumni,” she said. “I’m looking forward to jumping into this role and connecting with our Alumni Association Board of Directors and other alumni groups in fresh and meaningful ways as we continue to engage Catamount Nation, furthering our communication and cultivating resources to advance our university’s vision.”

As director of alumni engagement, Miller will be charged with developing and implementing programs and services that create robust, multilayered relationships between WCU and its alumni and other external constituents. The university has more than 82,000 living alumni. While the majority of them reside in North Carolina, with at least one alumnus in all 100 counties, WCU alumni live in every U.S. state and across the world.

Miller will oversee alumni activities involving communications, advocacy and volunteerism, resource development and events. Supported by an assistant director of alumni engagement and a coordinator for affinity programs, Miller will manage the WCU Alumni Association Board of Directors, the leadership board representing WCU’s alumni base.

In her role as associate athletics director, Miller was part of the department’s senior leadership team, with administrative and leadership responsibilities in the areas of academic support, NCAA compliance, student-athlete development and leadership, sports medicine, admissions, residential living and dining.

Prior to joining the Department of Athletics, Miller was a business teacher at North Davidson and North Johnston high schools from 2007 until 2010. She was head women’s soccer coach, director of intramurals and a faculty member at Barton College from 2003 until 2007.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in sport management and business administration from Barton College in 2002 and her master’s degree in sport administration from East Carolina University in 2006. She is married to Chad Miller, head women’s soccer coach at WCU. They reside in Sylva and have two sons, Thomas and Carson.