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CASE Honors Leaders at University of Iowa, University of Hawaii Foundations

Donna VuchinichTwo female executives who led their university foundations to record growth and national prominence are the 2017 recipients of the CASE Commonfund Institutionally Related Foundation Awards.

Lynette Marshall, president and CEO, of the University of Iowa Foundation, and Donna Vuchinich, president and CEO, of the University of Hawaii Foundation, were formally recognized for their contributions at the 25th annual CASE Conference for Institutionally Related Foundations, March 29-31 in Austin, Texas.

Institutionally related foundations are nonprofit organizations that cultivate and manage private assets to support the missions of the colleges and universities with which they are affiliated. These prestigious awards recognize professionals who have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement, quality and effectiveness of their foundations and the sector.

Marshall has nearly 35 years of experience in institutional advancement. She began her career as an educational fundraiser at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she advanced to the role of associate chancellor for development before leaving in 2006 to become the first woman president and CEO of the University of Iowa Foundation. Under her leadership, the foundation has experienced record growth and become nationally recognized for its excellence in fundraising, stewardship, administration and financial management. Marshall stewarded "For Iowa. Forever More: The Campaign for the University of Iowa"-the largest capital campaign in the history of the university as well as the state-which exceeded its $1.7 billion goal by raising $1.975 billion. In her letter of support, Tiffani Shaw, executive vice president and COO of the University of Iowa Foundation, wrote, "Lynette is a visionary leader, and her work enhances the lives of others every day."

Vuchinich has more than 35 years of experience in public university fundraising. Before joining the UH Foundation, she served in administrative and leadership positions with the Oregon State University Foundation and the University of New Mexico Foundation. Under her leadership, the UH Foundation has seen dramatic fundraising growth in support of UH's 10 campuses. Vuchinich is credited with growing the UHF endowment from $113.2 million to more than $260.7 million; leading the largest capital campaign in Hawaii's history (the Centennial Campaign, which raised $336 million); and enabling UH to cross the $1 billion fundraising mark. Just this week, the UH Foundation announced the successful completion of its most recent capital campaign, achieving its $500 million goal 15 months ahead of schedule. However, as UH Foundation Board of Trustees Chair T. Michael May wrote in his letter of support, "True leadership goes beyond the numbers. A true leader imbues their organization with fire for their mission and coalesces staff actions with personal values. Donna does just that."

Both Vuchinich and Marshall are active members of CASE.

The awards are underwritten by Commonfund, which provides fund management services and investment advice to nonprofit organizations.

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The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) is a professional association serving educational institutions and the advancement professionals who work on their behalf in alumni relations, communications, development, marketing and allied areas.

CASE was founded in 1974 and maintains headquarters in Washington, D.C., with offices in London (CASE Europe, 1994), Singapore (CASE Asia-Pacific, 2007) and Mexico City (CASE América Latina, 2011).

Today, CASE’s membership includes more than 3,670 colleges and universities, primary and secondary independent and international schools, and nonprofit organizations in more than 80 countries around the globe. This makes CASE one of the world’s largest nonprofit educational associations in terms of institutional membership. CASE serves nearly 81,000 advancement practitioners on the staffs of its member institutions and has more than 17,000 professional members on its roster.

To fulfill their missions and to meet both individual and societal needs, colleges, universities and independent schools rely on—and therefore must foster—the good will, active involvement, informed advocacy and enduring support of alumni, donors, prospective students, parents, government officials, community leaders, corporate executives, foundation officers and other external constituencies.

CASE helps its members build stronger relationships with all of these constituencies by providing relevant research, supporting growth in the profession and fostering support of education. CASE also offers a variety of advancement products and services, provides standards and an ethical framework for the profession and works with other organizations to respond to public issues of concern while promoting the importance of education worldwide.

The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawaiʻi System. The mission of the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is to unite donors' passions with the University of Hawaiʻi’s aspirations by raising philanthropic support and managing private investments to benefit UH, the people of Hawaiʻi and our future generations www.uhfoundation.org.