GIA Member Spotlight

Chandra Tuggle (she/her)
Assistant Vice Chancellor, Alumni & Constituent Engagement
University of Tennessee Health Science Center

We caught up with Chandra Tuggle to discover more about her, what she’s up to, and what we can learn from her.

Briefly describe your current role.
In my current role, I oversee all engagement activity for more than 40,000 UT Health Science Center alumni from six colleges at our four campuses (Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville), as well as community stakeholder engagement. My team includes a senior director of alumni programs, a director of alumni programs, an assistant director of alumni programs, and an advancement coordinator. Our overarching goal is to create strategic engagement opportunities that grow the university’s donor pipeline.

Briefly describe your career journey and what led you to institutional advancement in academic medicine.
I started my career at Memphis in May, a month-long festival that honors a different country annually and celebrates the city’s rich history and culture, as a sponsorship development administrator (which basically translates to overseeing the annual giving and in-kind gift program). My next stop was the Memphis-Shelby County Public Library’s Development and Marketing department, where I served as a development administrator and had the opportunity to work on the capital campaign for a new main library building project. For eight years, I served as the communications director for Catholic Charities of Memphis, and I had the opportunity to write articles in partnership with our bishop and other priests, field and fulfill media requests, plan various annual events, and dabble in annual giving projects. Finally, I begin my tenure at the Heath Science Center as a director of alumni affairs 18 years ago, and I rose to senior director before being promoted to assistant vice chancellor in November 2018.

What achievement in your current job are you proud of?
Recently, I oversaw the restructuring of our engagement model, which had been unchanged for more than 20 years.  We went from a siloed, college-based engagement model to a university-wide, strategic engagement model that allows my team to engage more alumni where they are rather than relying on them to come to our main campus for events.

What is the best career advice you were given and how have you used it?
If you ever get the opportunity to manage a team, try to be the type of leader you always wish you had. I have tried to mimic the best traits of my former managers while remaining true to my own style. I try to lead by example, give my team opportunities to grow and shine, coach them when necessary, and celebrate their successes. I don’t want my team to simply follow me. I hope I’m helping to build leaders who excel beyond my own achievements. That’s what I want my legacy to be. I’d like to think I’m getting in right, but you’ll have to ask my team about that!

What advice do you have for other institutional advancement professionals in academic medicine?
There’s no such thing as a typical day, so be flexible. You’re going to learn something new every day, so develop a love for lifelong learning. If you love what you’re doing, 18 years will sneak up on you in the blink of eye.

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