Jim Lanier

As an AGB board governance consultant, Jim Lanier works with university and foundation boards on assessment, operations, and governance issues, and trains AGB facilitators and consultants. For over 23 years he served as vice chancellor for institutional advancement and as CEO of the East Carolina University (ECU) Foundation and the ECU Real Estate Foundation. While at ECU, he also served as a governance consultant for AGB, focusing on governance, strategic planning, and fundraising. In 2004-05, Lanier chaired a joint taskforce for AGB and CASE to develop the National Illustrative Model Memorandum of Understanding between Universities and Foundations. It has become a national standard.

When Lanier arrived at East Carolina in 1983, assets for academic programs were about $1.5 million and total university giving was slightly over $1 million. When he took early retirement in 2006, total giving had reached $17 million annually, total assets were nearly $100 million, and the foundation and its board had become major driving forces supporting the university. While vice chancellor, he led three successful campaigns and helped develop plans for a $150 million centennial campaign that began after his retirement.

Before East Carolina, Lanier spent 12 years at Louisburg College, a small 225-year-old Methodist school near Raleigh. There he held several roles, including five years as director of development, working closely with the president and trustees and leading the college’s first ever successful major capital campaign.

In the realm of fundraising, public affairs, and governance, Lanier has worked extensively with AGB and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). He has been a frequent speaker and facilitator for both groups. He chaired the CASE National Assembly in 1997 with over 1,000 delegates and also chaired several CASE commissions, including the National Commission on Philanthropy and the National Steering Committee for Institutionally Related Foundations.  In 2004, he was honored with the CASE-Commonfund Institutionally Related Foundation Professional Leadership Award. He has been selected by both organizations as an “Outstanding Facilitator” for his programs at regional and national conferences.

Lanier has a number of publications, the most recent being an article in November/December 2008 issue of Trusteeship Magazine entitled “What Lies Ahead for University-Foundation Relations.” He earned his BS and MS Ed from East Carolina University, and he also completed a number of postgraduate programs including the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard.