Vice President of Advancement Dr. Alan Medders announced March 5 that he will resign from his position at UNA and take on a similar role at Columbus State University in Columbus, Ga.

Josh Woods, director of University Communications, said Medders will continue his position with UNA through June. Woods said Medders was sought out by Columbus State officials for his experience in advancement and fundraising.

“For the next few months, Alan’s main priority will be to ensure this is a smooth transition,” Woods said. “There are so many important objectives the university is trying to achieve now and it’s vital that the transition be made smoothly enough so that the achievement of those objectives will not be interrupted.”

Medders’ position as vice president of advancement was created when he arrived at UNA in July of 2007, Woods said. Since Medders came to UNA, he has worked to increase annual giving from $1,446,965 in 2007 to $2,954,547 in 2011.

Woods said he doesn’t believe any Division I fundraising efforts will be affected by Medders’ resignation.

Prior to Medders’ arrival, the position of vice president of advancement did not exist at UNA, said UNA President Bill Cale. Since then, he has created staff, organized fundraising, produced publications, branded the university and worked with alumni relations, Cale said.

“We’re certainly going to have to start the search process,” he said. “We’re hoping to get that underway very quickly. We don’t want a big gap between Alan’s departure and someone who is new.”

Medders worked at Campbellsville University, a private baptist school, for six years before coming to UNA.

He said his time at UNA has allotted him great opportunities and allowed him to accomplish positive things for the university.