DeKALB – Catherine Squires will return to her alma mater as the vice president of university advancement at Northern Illinois University.
Squires will report directly to NIU President Douglas Baker.
She will be responsible for the vision, leadership, strategy and management of all fundraising and alumni relations activities on behalf of NIU.
Squires will start May 1, pending approval from the NIU Board of Trustees, according to a news release from NIU.
Her annual salary will be $275,000, university spokesman Paul Palian said.
Since 2008, Squires has worked as the vice president of the Tufts Medical Center Trust in Massachusetts, where she was the chief development executive for Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children.
While Squires was a member of the senior leadership team at Tufts, the annual fundraising program grew from $9 million to $14 million.
Outgoing Vice President for University Advancement Mike Malone will work with Squires during the leadership transition from May 1 until his June 30 retirement.
Squires also will become president and CEO of the NIU Foundation after a special election by the foundation’s board of directors replaces Malone in that post.
As of June 30, 2014, the NIU Foundation’s total assets were $127 million, including a $70.6 million endowment, according to NIU officials.
Squires graduated from NIU in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in music.
She earned a master’s degree in Musicology from Northwestern University in 1983.
Squires will be part of institutional planning that blends development and alumni relations strategies into NIU’s academic and financial plans, soliciting the private financial support to advance NIU’s strategic priorities, according to a news release.