Lynette L. Marshall, CFRE

Lynette L. Marshall became president of The University of Iowa Foundation in August 2006.  In her first year at Iowa, she led the fundraising organization to a record performance, generating in excess of $87 million in outright gifts from more than 68,000 contributors for people and programs throughout The University of Iowa.  She also has launched a number of initiatives, including a program to engage more UI students in philanthropy and volunteerism; efforts to involve more women in philanthropic leadership; and a staff restructuring based on collaborative, donor-focused fundraising.

A graduate of the University of Illinois and a longtime and senior fundraising professional there, Marshall has directed a $1.5 billion endowment campaign; cultivated and solicited numerous seven- and eight-figure gifts; led multiple unit campaigns for new facilities and other university priorities; and managed all aspects of a comprehensive development program.  She earned her Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) designation from the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 1992, is a member of several national fundraising organizations, and has taught development workshops nationally and internationally.

Marshall began her fundraising career as director of resource development for the College of Agriculture at Illinois. She then became associate dean and director of the Office of Advancement in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, and in 2002 became associate chancellor for corporate and foundation relations.  In 2004, she was named associate chancellor for development and vice president of the University of Illinois Foundation.  She earned two degrees from the University of Illinois: a B.S. degree in agricultural science from the College of Agriculture, and a M.Ed. in educational policy studies from the College of Education. 

Marshall was raised on a fifth-generation family farm near Peoria, Illinois.  She and her husband, Jeffery Ford, have two children:  Michael is a sophomore in computer engineering at the University of Illinois, with minors in music and mathematics; and Katharine is a sophomore at City High School in Iowa City. 

Marshall and Ford enjoy providing leadership to several community organizations in the Iowa City area. She is a member of the noon Rotary and serves on the World Service Committee, is a member of the 2008 Johnson County United Way Campaign Committee and Women’s Leadership Circle, and serves on the board of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation.  Ford volunteered as a loaned executive with the Johnson County United Way in 2007; serves on the boards of Riverside Theatre, the Housing Fellowship, and the Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City; and is an active volunteer with CIVIC and the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council.  Marshall and Ford have enjoyed hosting many foreign exchange students in their home, particularly through Rotary and  4-H.