Mark Brovak hired as senior director for University Advancement

Western Washington University announced on Wednesday the hiring of Mark Brovak as senior director and chief operating officer of University Advancement.

In this role, which is new to the university, Brovak will oversee financial and administrative day-to-day operations of the 30-person division of University Advancement, which includes the WWU Alumni Association and WWU Foundation. Brovak comes to Western from The Ryzex Group, where he held a variety of senior-level positions over the past decade, including financial controller, director of corporate sales and vice president of human resources, legal and administration.

“We created this position to better serve our university, and Mark is the ideal choice to fill the role,” said Stephanie Bowers, Western's vice president of University Advancement. “Our goals are to streamline our internal operations and more effectively manage the growing resources of the WWU Foundation. In addition, we are expanding our focus to better serve our alumni, employers, students and financial contributors in the Seattle metro area. Mark’s expertise will enable our division to achieve these goals more efficiently.”

As senior director/COO of Advancement, Brovak will supervise all Advancement operations, including: fiscal operations and gift management, real estate transactions, human resources, and financial oversight and compliance. He also will oversee all annuity, trust and endowment funds while serving as the primary liaison between the division and the finance and audit committees of both the Alumni Association and the Foundation.

“I am looking forward to working with everyone in the Advancement division to build on the excellent infrastructure and team that’s already in place,” Brovak said. “The Advancement division has an impact on every facet of the university – students, alumni, faculty and many campus partners – and I am eager to help strengthen those relationships and to join the Western community.”

Earlier this year, WWU opened an office in downtown Seattle that serves as a base of operations for supporting and collaborating with constituents in the metro area: alumni, students and employers.