University of Maryland Medicine Philanthropy Appoints Heather S. Culp, JD, as new Senior Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer

The University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) have jointly announced today that senior advancement leader Heather S. Culp, JD, has been named as the new Senior Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer for both institutions.

Culp brings more than 15 years of experience managing philanthropy teams and leading comprehensive fundraising campaigns for academic institutions. Most recently she served as Executive Director of Development for The Fund for Johns Hopkins Medicine at Johns Hopkins University leading all aspects of fundraising for the Department of Neurology and Brain Sciences.

"Heather is highly accomplished and well respected in her field," said Bert W. O'Malley, MD, President and CEO of UMMC. "Her proven ability to lead impactful campaigns and cultivate donor relationships across all levels of giving makes her the right person for this vital role. Every day, we see the power of philanthropy. I look forward to working with Heather to develop meaningful and lasting connections to our mission to advance discovery and patient-centered care."

In her new leadership role, Culp will provide overarching strategic guidance and vision for the fundraising efforts of UMMC Downtown and Midtown campuses, UMSOM, and the University of Maryland Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute building on their shared commitment to accelerate the pace of discovery and improving the delivery of patient-centered care for communities across Baltimore, the state and the region. Culp will also become part of a team of experienced and dynamic development leaders supporting philanthropic activity across the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) and its member organizations.

"We are very excited to welcome Heather to our senior management team. She is a proven leader in academic medicine who can leverage the combined strengths of discovery-based medicine and patient-focused care, to attract the resources that will move our institution forward in new and significant ways," said Mark T. Gladwin, MD, Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland, Baltimore and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine. "I am confident that her experience and expertise in working with faculty physicians and scientists, engaging with key stakeholders, and mobilizing a combined unit of advancement professionals will help take University of Maryland Medicine philanthropy to even greater heights."

As Senior Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer, Culp will represent both UMMC and UMSOM philanthropy efforts, strengthening partnership and alignment across both organizations. In addition, she will oversee advancement teams at UMMC and UMSOM enabling them to work more seamlessly together to tailor opportunities for transformative giving and ensure full impact to education, patient care, research, and healthcare facilities.

"As a Marylander committed to UMMC and the UM School of Medicine's public mission, I am grateful for the opportunity to join the team at this transformational moment in its history," Culp said. "I am eager to partner with leaders, donors, board members and the community to advance medical education and enhance healthcare in Baltimore and beyond."

Prior to her position at Johns Hopkins, Culp held previous fundraising roles at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law and at Washington College, developing a solid reputation of delivering success through strong senior leadership and alumni engagement. She also spent several years as an attorney in a private practice focused on commercial litigation, estate planning and administration. Culp's experience partnering with alumni of both undergraduate and graduate institutions—along with her current work with grateful patients—gives her a unique perspective about the importance of listening to, understanding and articulating donor motivations.

Culp earned a juris doctorate from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and a bachelor's degree from Washington College in Chestertown, Md.

About the University of Maryland Medical Center

The University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) is comprised of two hospital campuses in Baltimore: the 800-bed flagship institution of the 11-hospital University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) and the 200-bed UMMC Midtown Campus. Both campuses are academic medical centers for training physicians and health professionals and for pursuing research and innovation to improve health. UMMC's downtown campus is a national and regional referral center for trauma, cancer care, neurosciences, advanced cardiovascular care, and women's and children's health, and has one of the largest solid organ transplant programs in the country. All physicians on staff at the downtown campus are clinical faculty physicians of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The UMMC Midtown Campus medical staff is predominately faculty physicians specializing in a wide spectrum of medical and surgical subspecialties, primary care for adults and children and behavioral health. UMMC Midtown has been a teaching hospital for 140 years and is located one mile away from the downtown campus. For more information, visit www.umm.edu.

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 46 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs, and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of more than $1.3 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic, and clinically based care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has nearly $600 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 students, trainees, residents, and fellows. The combined School of Medicine and Medical System (“University of Maryland Medicine”) has an annual budget of over $6 billion and an economic impact of nearly $20 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity (according to the Association of American Medical Colleges profile) is an innovator in translational medicine, with 606 active patents and 52 start-up companies. In the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of the Best Medical Schools, published in 2021, the UM School of Medicine is ranked #9 among the 92 public medical schools in the U.S., and in the top 15 percent (#27) of all 192 public and private U.S. medical schools. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu