
Veteran fundraiser Janie Harmon has joined the MU College of Veterinary Medicine as the senior director for Advancement. Harmon has been with Mizzou for 27 years. She started at the university in a campuswide public relations position helping to promote the university’s sesquicentennial.
Harmon’s first position in Advancement was with the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources where she helped secure funding for the Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building. She spent 17 years at the School of Law and also with the Trulaske College of Business and Harry S Truman School of Public Affairs before joining the College of Veterinary Medicine.
“As I looked around the university, there are programs that have always been highly respected; the CVM is one of them,” Harmon said of her decision to join the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Harmon is a Columbia native who grew up on a farm where her family raised sheep, cattle and chickens. She said her childhood, including an involvement with 4-H, instilled a love for agriculture and animals. She is a graduate of Hickman High School and Stephens College.
She said she is looking forward to leading the college’s fundraising efforts during the recently launched campaign. “The College of Veterinary Medicine is poised to make significant contributions to the success of Mizzou: Our Time to Lead, and I look forward to building on the excellent work that Dean Olson and others have done toward fundraising goals,” Harmon said.
She said her top priority will be to develop relationships with the faculty and get better acquainted with their work. She also plans to focus on the need for support for a new academic building, specialty programs, the Dean’s Fund for Excellence, and endowments for scholarships and faculty positions, as well as develop a grateful clients program for the Veterinary Health Center.
“My goal is continue the success that is already in place and carry it to the next level,” she said.
When she is not working, Harmon enjoys gardening at her home in Millersburg and spending time with her granddaughter.