The Michigan Times

Renee Zientek has a relationship with UM-Flint dating back to 1991, when she received her undergraduate in English. From 1994 to 1999, she worked for the Service Learning Center and was involved in University Outreach from its inception in 1994 as a program coordinator.

In 1999, Zientek moved to the Petoskey area in northern Michigan, to manage family businesses before returning to UM-Flint in 2004 to become the director of University Outreach.

"I have really strong relationships here in corporate foundations," Zientek said. "What they wanted to do was to take that experience and make it benefit the whole campus."

Zientek’s title as assistant vice chancellor for institutional advancement includes directing University Outreach and the Center for Civic Engagement.

"Institutional Advancement is about three things … relationships, resources and results," she said.

The offices of Alumni Relations, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Special Events, and the administrative team all report to her.

"Over time it’s just evolved, and I’ve collected on a number of responsibilities from 2005 to now," Zientek said. "And that pretty much is what makes up the assistant vice chancellor’s role."

Zientek is responsible for connecting the campus to the community in order to fund scholarships and grant programs with outside corporate financial donors. Most of Zientek’s time is spent in meetings, giving the University a presence when a corporate gift is being explored.

"Mostly I manage external relationships. … I’m representing the University to corporations and foundations who want to support specific projects," Zientek explained.

Zientek’s favorite part of the job is working with people.

"In all aspects of the work that I do I get to be supportive of the development of people, be that students or program staff," she said.

"I get have a lot of variety in my day. … There’s no way to become bored."

The most difficult part for Zientek is the limited available funding.

"Frequently we’re without the resources to fill positions to do programs what maybe students would expect to be part of the work that we do," Zientek said. "But we don’t have funding for it."

Zientek believes that honesty and integrity are important traits for an administrator to have.

"The amount of trust the community has for the campus comes from being a forthright and creative person," she says. "Looking for positive solutions to problems … I’m able to juggle multiple things … and make a lot of people happy."

Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?

"I definitely feel that my future is with the University. … I think that I am adding value at least to the administrative structure here, when I quit adding value I think I’ll start looking for something else."

Where do you see the campus in 5-10 years?

"I’m sure that residential life will grow. We’ll have more residential students and more academic programs. … I’m sure we’ll play a big role in the revitalization of the Flint and Genesee County area."

What can you tell us about your family?

"My husband’s name is interesting. It’s Wolf, and we’ve been married 16 years. My daughter Maggie is 13, and my son Quincy is 10. I coach my daughter’s dance team, and my son plays baseball and flag football, so I spend a lot of time doing those things."

Why do we need an assistant vice chancellor for institutional advancement?

"This collection of work needs to be connected. There are specific reasons why Alumni Relations and Community Outreach need to be connected. …The things that I have here under my area of responsibility all need to be connected. And it makes sense that they all report to one place. … Another way to look at ‘Why do we need this position,’ well it’s actually filling three."