Northwestern University, Vice President of Alumni Relations and Development

David Lively named Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development (ARD) at Northwestern University. Lively, who joined ARD more than a decade ago and has risen through the ranks, had been serving as senior associate vice president and interim vice president.

Lively will lead the department’s 280 staff members, partner with an additional 100 advancement colleagues in Northwestern’s professional schools, and serve as a member of President Michael Schill’s senior staff. He was selected as vice president after an extensive, nationwide search.

Lively joined ARD in 2012, leading fundraising for schools and programs. In 2015, he was promoted to associate vice president and campaign manager, leading “We Will. The Campaign for Northwestern”—one of the largest fundraising campaigns in U.S. higher education history. Lively was promoted to senior associate vice president in 2017.

The “We Will” Campaign, publicly launched in March 2014, raised $6.1 billion to support the university’s “Northwestern Will” strategic plan. Following the conclusion of the campaign in June 2021, Lively helped Northwestern raise a record-breaking $1 billion in new gifts and commitments in its first post-campaign year. This fiscal year, fundraising for the university has continued at a near-record pace.

Prior to coming to Northwestern, Lively served as vice president of development at DePaul University in Chicago, where he oversaw the university’s first fundraising campaign in more than two decades. Lively also held development positions at the University of Denver, the University of Colorado Foundation, and, from 1997 to 1999, Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law.

Lively holds an MBA from the University of Denver, a master’s degree in history from Colorado State University, and a bachelor’s degree in history from Southern Methodist University. He is the author of “Managing Major Gift Fundraisers: A Contrarian’s Guide” and co-host of the podcast “Talking Shop.”

Jack Gorman led this search with Grace Zakim, Bryce Ervin, and Sandeep Kaur.