Provost, Vice Presidents, & Secretary of the University
Ronald J. Schiller
Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations
5801 S. Ellis Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
Phone: 773.702.0686
rons@uchicago.edu
Ron Schiller is Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations. Appointed in 2005, Schiller leads a growing team of advancement professionals responsible for increasing the engagement and investment of alumni and other friends.
Schiller’s responsibilities include leadership of all areas of university development, alumni relations, campaign strategy, and advancement planning. This includes coordinating the advancement efforts of all areas of the University with the goals of the Board of Trustees, President, Provost, Deans, Vice Presidents, and other senior leaders.
Prior to coming to Chicago, Schiller was Associate Vice President of Advancement, Director of University Development, and Campaign Director at Carnegie Mellon University from 2001 until 2005. In 2004, Schiller was named a “Fast Tracker” by the Pittsburgh Business Times. He has previously served as Vice President for Development at Northeastern University, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at the New England Conservatory of Music, and Director of Institutional Advancement at the Eastman School of Music. Schiller began his development career in 1988, working on Cornell’s ground-breaking and highly successful $1.5 billion campaign.
Schiller earned a B.A. at Cornell University, where he was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was deeply engaged in a variety of performance activities. In the late 1980s, he served as Associate Director and Acting Director of Choral Music at Cornell. Schiller conducted numerous performances of Cornell, Ithaca, and Boston musical organizations throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Chicago’s Harris Theater for Music and Dance, as a member of the Cornell University Trustees’ Glee Club Advisory Council, and as an advisor to the Aspen Institute. Schiller is also a faculty member in the annual Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Conference on “Inspiring the Largest Gifts of a Lifetime.”
Schiller’s partner, Alan Fletcher, is an accomplished composer and President of the Aspen Music Festival and School.