Legacy Terp Returns to Campus to Lead Smith’s Advancement Team

Despite growing up on the West Coast, Jennifer Goforth BSOS ’94 has always had a connection with the University of Maryland. Her mother and many other family members are Terps and after high school, Goforth moved across the country to begin her own journey as a Terp. Today, she’s back on campus as the new chief development officer at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. 

“There was almost no one else from west of the Mississippi [then],” she said on being a West Coast Terp. Being close to Washington, D.C., was also a bonus as she wanted to study political science. “So I applied to Maryland, got in and was super excited,” choosing to study in College Park over the other local universities that offered Goforth admission.

When she was a student, Van Munching Hall was just coming to life. As she starts with Smith, she will seek to secure the school's strong presence in the University of Maryland’s Forward campaign, the university’s largest fundraising campaign in history, focus on Dean Prabhudev Konana’s strategic priorities, and ensure that all areas of Smith are well-funded and thriving.

“We are thrilled to have Jennifer, a proud Terp, join us here at the Smith School. Her deep experience in fundraising and higher education will help us continue to provide more scholarship opportunities for students, build on our innovative curriculum and support the impact of our faculty research,” said Konana.

Goforth has strong connections to the think tank community through her work with organizations such as the Brookings Institution and the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Most recently Goforth worked at national think tank Third Way in development and external relations. She has also served in fundraising roles for three other universities as well as the Charles E. Smith Life Communities. 

“Smith is important to the state and to the region and it takes all types of constituencies to achieve excellence,” Goforth said. “I encourage anyone with an interest in any aspect of Smith to reach out and become involved.”