Mark Zafereo

The University of Houston-Victoria has hired a native Victorian who has worked for the past five years in Austin at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as the university’s senior director of university advancement.

Mark Zafereo, the assistant director of external relations for the Coordinating Board, will start working at UHV on June 1. In addition, Amy Mundy, who is UHV’s director of annual giving, will become the director of corporate and foundation relations to better reflect her role at the university.

“Mark will bring his expertise to help support the university’s advancement goals in development, alumni relations, constituent relations, community engagement, strategic planning and other areas,” UHV President Tim Hudson said. “He has extensive knowledge about higher education at the state level and right here in Victoria.”

Zafereo, a Certified Public Accountant, grew up in Victoria and worked at Bumgardner, Morrison and Co. CPAs before becoming the CPA, office manager and controller for Victoria resident Patrick Welder Jr. for 22 years. He was the director of research for the Texas House Committee on Higher Education when it was chaired in 2004 by Rep. Geanie Morrison before taking his job at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

“I’m just ecstatic about coming back to Victoria, where I have lifetime friends and associates, to work with President Hudson and the strong leadership team at UHV,” he said. “Victoria is fortunate to be home to so many people who are supportive of higher education. I will be a strong advocate for UHV’s drive to become a destination university because it is so important to the future of our city, county and state.”

In his current role at the Coordinating Board, Zafereo manages strategic interaction between the board and commissioner with institutions, business leaders and legislators on higher education issues, and coordinates agency interaction at the federal level. He also works with the business community and Legislature to develop collaborative strategies for meeting the state’s Closing the Gaps initiative, an effort to increase student participation, student success, excellence and research at state public universities by 2015.

“Mark is a great champion of and spokesperson for higher education who will work tirelessly on behalf of UHV. The Coordinating Board’s loss is UHV’s gain,” said Raymund Paredes, commissioner of higher education for the Coordinating Board.

Zafereo will use his knowledge and experience to help UHV advance its mission of becoming a destination university serving the education needs, promoting the economic well-being and enhancing the quality of life for students, their families and the community as a whole.

“I feel very strongly that we have to make every effort to get people enrolled in higher education,” Zafereo said. “We have to develop the resources to make sure that they succeed and gain the necessary critical thinking skills to adapt to constant change,” Zafereo said. “Education positively changes lives. This is a continuing passion of mine.”

Zafereo also plans on becoming involved with the Victoria community as he has in the past. He previously served on the St. Joseph Schools Board of Directors, the DeTar Healthcare System Board of Trustees, and The Victoria College Foundation and Board of Trustees.

Mundy said that she is looking forward to working with Zafereo in her new capacity at the university.

“I have enjoyed working with the community, local businesses and foundations,” she said. “I look forward to expanding those relations as director of corporate and foundation relations and strengthening the Office of University Advancement under Mark’s direction.”