Pam Russell
director of communications
CASE
+1-202-478-5680
russell@case.org

For Immediate Release
March 9, 2010

CASE, Commonfund Announce 2010 IRF Award Recipients

Foundation Leaders at UC Irvine, University of Wisconsin to be Honored at IRF Conference

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Two widely respected professionals who have made valuable contributions to the educational foundation field are this year's recipients of the CASE Commonfund Institutionally Related Foundation awards.

The IRF awards recognize individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement, quality and effectiveness of their foundations and the community of institutionally related foundations as a whole. Institutionally related foundations are private, nonprofit corporations that cultivate and manage private resources to support the missions of the colleges, universities and university systems with which they are affiliated.

The 2010 recipients are:

Thomas J. Mitchell, president of University of California, Irvine Foundation. Mitchell is a nationally recognized leader among institutionally related foundations with nearly 20 years of foundation-related experience at UC Irvine, Iowa State University and Northern Illinois University. During his tenure at UC Irvine Foundation, Mitchell has overseen a number of successes, including a 270 percent increase in annual private gift and grant support to the university (from $35 million to more than $130 million) and a 114 percent increase in its endowment (from $117 million to $250 million). He also spearheaded the launch of UC Irvine's $1 billion comprehensive campaign and oversaw a 64 percent increase in the number of overall gifts. His distinguished leadership is evident beyond his foundation work. In addition to pioneering a new hiring and retention strategy that is being emulated at other institutions, Mitchell is a frequent speaker at regional and national conferences and has authored and presented more than 200 papers on institutional advancement and managing institutionally related foundations. He is a current member of the CASE National Committee for Institutionally Related Foundations, chair of the Advancement Investment Study group, and former member of the CASE Philanthropy Commission.

Andrew A. "Sandy" Wilcox, president of the University of Wisconsin Foundation. Wilcox has been president of the University of Wisconsin Foundation since 1988. Under his leadership, the University of Wisconsin Foundation has experienced steady growth and prestige. Assets have grown from $190 million to more than $2.7 billion, and the foundation consistently ranks in the top 10 of all higher education fund development entities. Beyond his work at the foundation, Wilcox is actively involved with the institutionally related foundation community and has been a regular contributor to the field. In addition, Wilcox was instrumental in the development of the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act, which provides guidance and authority to charitable organizations concerning the management and investment of funds held by those organizations. UPMIFA has been enacted in 43 states and the District of Columbia.

CASE and Commonfund will recognize Mitchell and Wilcox during an awards luncheon April 14 at the 18^th Annual Conference for Institutionally Related Foundations in Bonita Springs, Fla.

The awards are underwritten by Commonfund, a nonprofit corporation that provides fund management services and investment advice to educational institutions, hospitals, foundations, and other nonprofits.

About CASE

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education 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 3,600 colleges and universities, primary and secondary independent and international schools, and nonprofit organizations in 76 countries around the globe. This makes CASE one of the world’s largest nonprofit educational associations in terms of institutional membership. CASE serves more than 70,000 advancement professionals 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.

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