University Advancement

As vice president of university advancement, Charles E. “Chuck” Davis III is a member of the president’s cabinet and oversees alumni relations and fundraising for MBU.

A seasoned leader with more than 25 years in the higher and secondary education sectors, Davis brings a demonstrated record of exceptional success in building sustainable advancement programs.

“Mary Baldwin is a special place — with a rich history and creative approach to its future,” Davis said. “I am thrilled to lead the advancement team. It will be a joy to meet our alumni, parents, and friends in the coming months as together we work to advance the university.”

Davis has previously worked in global fundraising, building philanthropy programs at the Robert Gordon University Foundation in Aberdeen, Scotland, as chief executive officer from 2012–15, and most recently as director of strategic development at the International School of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. In each position he has helped facilitate the most significant gifts in the institution’s history and built processes and teams for sustained success.

Prior to this international work, Davis served from 2003–12 as the director of the Ever Elon campaign and assistant vice president for university advancement at Elon University. Over his 10-year tenure he served as the key architect of Elon’s largest comprehensive campaign, surpassing the $100 million goal and garnering a Grand Finalist Award in 2009 for campaign communications and events from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Prior to his work at Elon, Davis served as interim president and director of development for the Medical Foundation of East Carolina University, and director of development at the Graduate School of North Carolina State University. Davis is a graduate of Furman University. He and his wife, Flora Hall Davis, have two daughters.

“My interest in MBU is really tied to the mission of the university. In particular, the idea of empowering leaders to pursue lives of purpose.”

As associate vice president of university advancement, Josh provides strategic leadership to annual and major gifts, as well as supervising the office’s day-to-day operations, including budget management, strategic planning, systems, and assessment.

Josh joined the MBU family with over 16 years of experience in building high-functioning advancement teams. Most recently serving as the campaign director and assistant vice president of development at the University of Oregon (UO), Josh managed and implemented a $2 billion-dollar campaign from initial planning stages through an extension to $3 billion. The UO campaign saw an increase in the number of principal gifts, submitted proposals, and completed major gifts, plus the best year on record for annual philanthropy.

Josh cohosted the 2018 Strategic Initiatives Conference at UO, the seventh annual meeting of colleges and universities — including Harvard University, Stanford University, and University of California at Berkeley — to examine emerging best practices and trends in interdisciplinary strategic initiative fundraising. He is also committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in his professional leadership, and served on UO’s Diversity Committee for University Advancement.

Before joining UO, Josh worked at both the University of Florida Foundation and the Florida State University (FSU) Foundation in a variety of roles in college-based development operations. He graduated from FSU with a bachelor of science in economics and political science.

Smoogie Bell, after many years away, moved back to her native Staunton and joined Mary Baldwin’s advancement services team in 2015 as a Data Entry Specialist. Her responsibilities include (but are not limited to) gift processing and entry, donor appreciation correspondence, document conversion for storage and retrieval, and mentoring advancement services’ student workers.

She has a degree in Graphic Design and Multimedia and is a freelance artistic photographer with specialized and hands on training in Graphic Design, Web Design and Document Imaging.

Smoogie served in and was honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corps where she became accustomed to surpassing expectations while successfully refining vitally important management and leadership skills based on integrity. These skills and principles have become steadfastly instrumental in her way of life and her civilian endeavors. She is the co-founder and vice president of the non-profit community-based group known as “The Seed”. She also serves as the graphic designer for the group. She is also a published poet and photographer.