Spotlight: Jane Stump — Employed Here, Gives Here

From magic shows to major gifts, Jane Stump brings a lifetime of storytelling, service and generosity to UCF.

If you ask Jane Stump how she found her way to UCF, she will tell you it was not part of any master plan. She lived nearby for years, passing the campus on her daily routes, but had never pictured herself working here. Then a career pivot led her to accept a temporary assignment with UCF Advancement.

Six years later, she is an associate director for development in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, building relationships with alumni around the world and helping them support the programs and students they care about most.

Along the way, she discovered a campus community she now deeply believes in.

“I didn’t realize how incredible UCF was until I got here,” Stump says. “The social mobility, the diversity, the opportunities for students who might not otherwise have access, that mission resonates with me.”

Before joining the university, Stump spent nearly four decades with Cru, the global nonprofit headquartered in Orlando. Her work there included conference planning and research, but the most unexpected chapter came when she was asked to manage a team of touring magicians.

One of the magicians developed a rare type of bone cancer during his tenure with Cru, and when his life was saved by a bone marrow transplant, the group turned their passion for performing into a lifesaving mission.

Their high-energy shows traveled from college to college, using storytelling and performance to draw students into a partnership with Be the Match. The program registered thousands of potential bone marrow donors, many with some of the highest follow-through rates in the nation.

[RadioLab’s story on one of these matches found through Cru]

Stump was astonished at how engaged the students became after hearing how easy it was to become a potential donor. And the meaningful impact her shows had on the communities they served became a source of professional and personal pride.

The role demanded creativity and quick thinking. Stump often found herself troubleshooting stage setups with volunteer crews, navigating cross-country travel with a truck full of lighting and equipment, and learning the craft and secrets of the magic world.

“A good magician’s work is 90% choreography, storytelling and misdirection,” Stump says. “The trick itself is just the last step. I loved the creativity and the craziness of it.”

When that chapter came to a close, it left her with a lasting appreciation for students and campus life. It also prepared her surprisingly well for her work at UCF. Today she collaborates with engineers, researchers and alumni from CREOL, The College of Optics and Photonics, one of the university’s best-kept secrets and a globally respected leader in its field.

Mention UCF at a national conference, she says, and people may pause. Mention CREOL, and everyone knows exactly where she means.

As a fundraiser, Stump delights in helping graduates reconnect with their college and shape their philanthropic goals. Sometimes that means establishing a scholarship, supporting student programs or investing in cutting-edge research.

She especially loves when a conversation begins with memories of a favorite professor and ends with a plan to lift future students.

She is also a donor herself, giving not because she has to but because generosity has always been part of who she is.

Her primary passion is Knight’s Pantry, a resource she supports often and enthusiastically. “Kids shouldn’t have to struggle that hard,” she says. “Students living out of their cars, skipping meals, trying to make tuition and rent. If we can help remove even a little of that burden, that matters.”

She traces that instinct to her upbringing. Raised by a single mother in Missouri, she grew up in a household where money was scarce but generosity was constant. She attended college with the help of a Rotary scholarship and still remembers the message that came with it. “They told me, ‘No, you do not have to pay it back. But someday, when you can give, we hope you will.’” She has carried that with her ever since.

Now she pays that forward, not only through her own giving but through the work she does every day helping others give back to the next generation.

Though her career has taken many turns, Stump says the common thread is simple. She loves people, and she loves investing in their potential. Whether she is meeting an alumnus in Germany over a virtual call or walking a donor through creating a scholarship, she sees her work at UCF as a continuation of a lifelong commitment.

“I am so happy to be on a college campus,” she says. “UCF is doing important things, and I am grateful I get to be part of it.”