Sharon Marine’s announcement

To: Senior Administrators
From: Paul Alivisatos, President
Subject: Sharon Marine’s announcement
Date: June 7, 2022

Sharon Marine has just announced that she will leave the University of Chicago at the end of this fiscal year to pursue a new opportunity.

Since joining the University in 2017 as Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development (ARD), Sharon oversaw the completion of the $5.4 billion University of Chicago Campaign: Inquiry and Impact, the most successful fundraising campaign the University has undertaken, and which engaged 70% of our alumni. During Sharon’s tenure we have raised more than $2.7 billion, including $300 million for the Odyssey program and several transformative naming gifts. In addition, Sharon helped catalyze a transformation in the technical capacity of the organization, undertaking the creation and launch of the highly successful “Alumni and Friends” website and implementing a new CRM system to replace and expand the capabilities of our fundraising platforms. Each of these initiatives allowed us to significantly increase the University’s capacity to engage our alumni and other partners, and to expand our fundraising activities in ways that will have an impact for decades to come.

Sharon has led an array of talented professionals in all areas of the ARD organization. Building on her considerable experience in higher education, Sharon developed the individuals and teams within ARD whose work is critical to the mission of the University. She intensified the focus on organizational health within ARD, engaging all staff in activities and discussions about issues of diversity and inclusion that have a meaningful impact on organizational culture and performance.

I am grateful to Sharon for her efforts on behalf of the University of Chicago and for being a valued member of the team that facilitated my smooth transition to the University. Her steady, skilled leadership was important for me, for the ARD team, and for the University more broadly during a critical transition period.

Laila Rashid, Vice President and Associate Dean for UChicago Medicine and Biological Sciences Development and Senior Associate Vice President in Alumni Relations and Development in the University, has agreed to serve as interim Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development while we conduct a national search for a permanent Vice President. Laila has been at the University since 2004, and has been in her current role since 2011. She brings very strong experience and knowledge to the interim role, and I am delighted she has agreed to accept it.

Please join me in thanking Sharon for all that she has done at the University of Chicago, and wishing her well in her new endeavors.