Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk has announced that Michael Paulus will be joining Navy Athletics as the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development. Paulus comes to Navy from Ole Miss, where he was the Assistant Athletic Director for Development.
“Mike is a very impressive professional with a wonderful personality who has documented success in development at a number of fine educational institutions,” said Gladchuk. “To meet him is to like him and both his personal and professional relationships in fundraising circles clearly align with the environment we have here at the Naval Academy. I expect him to be a wonderful complement to our NAAA staff and someone who will be highly respected by our alumni, friends and associates at the Naval Academy Foundation. I really like Mike and I believe our closest friends will like him as well. We welcome him to the Navy family.”
“I am thrilled to be joining the Navy family,” said Paulus. “I’m truly grateful to Chet Gladchuk for this opportunity. The Naval Academy is a world class institution with an unparalleled mission for developing leaders through athletics. I look forward to working together with the staff, coaches and Navy community to best support our midshipmen student-athlete and advance the proud tradition of Navy Athletics.”
At Ole Miss, Paulus was a lead fundraiser for the Forward Together campaign, an initiative that resulted in a new $95 million basketball arena, a $50 million expansion to the football stadium, and more than $60 million in renovations and improvements for all Olympic sports facilities at Ole Miss. In his more than three years in Oxford from 2015-2018, Paulus was part of a team that produced several of the top fundraising years in Ole Miss Athletics history, including the single best year ever totaling $45.6 million in cash donations in 2016.
Paulus joined Ole Miss from Mount St. Mary’s University, where he managed all annual giving, major gift and corporate partnership activities for Mount St. Mary’s Athletics from 2013-2015. In his role, he led collaboration efforts with University Advancement, and served as a key member of the vice president’s leadership team and athletic directors management staff. In consecutive years, the Mount Club achieved record levels of fundraising, as well as the completion of multiple donor-funded capital projects for improved facilities.
Michael began his career at Virginia Commonwealth University as a graduate assistant in athletic development before being elevated to Director of the Ram Athletic Fund. At VCU, he managed the day-to-day operations of annual giving and premium seating.
A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Paulus played college football at the University of North Carolina and William & Mary. He earned his Masters of Education in Sport Leadership from VCU, an M.B.A. from Mount St. Mary’s, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration at Ole Miss. Michael’s fiancé, Lindsay, is a Baltimore native and attends the University of Maryland School of Dentistry.
