Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement Staff

Summer Bacon serves as Senior Director of Donor Engagement & Communications for WKU Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement. She joined Western Kentucky University in 2017 and leads the university’s donor engagement, stewardship, donor recognition and communications strategies designed to strengthen relationships with alumni, donors and friends of the University. In this role, she oversees initiatives that support donor retention, recognition, philanthropic storytelling and engagement across the institution, and she serves on the division’s leadership team.

Prior to joining WKU, Summer held various roles at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, including positions supporting the Provost and Chancellor in University Events and Protocol and Academic Administration. She later served as Director of Stewardship at the SIU Foundation.

Summer earned a bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2000 and a Master of Science in Education in 2016.