Julie A. Lucas has chosen to resign from her position as MIT’s vice president for resource development, as announced today by President Sally Kornbluth. Lucas has designated her final day as June 30, aligning with the conclusion of the Institute’s fiscal year, in order to facilitate a seamless transition for employees and contributors.
Since 2014, Lucas has been at the forefront of fundraising efforts at the Institute. During her tenure, MIT’s average annual fundraising has surged by 96 percent to $611 million, escalating from $313 million in the prior decade before her arrival. The annual fundraising totals have surpassed the Institute’s annual $500 million fundraising goal for nine consecutive fiscal years, including several record-setting fiscal years with results ranging from $700 to $900 million.
“Before I came to MIT, Julie established a fundraising operation that truly reflects the Institute’s world-renowned reputation,” Kornbluth states. “I have witnessed firsthand how Julie’s proficiency, collaborative spirit, and dedication to our mission resonate with alumni and supporters, encouraging them to contribute to the Institute.”
Lucas led the MIT Campaign for a Better World, which wrapped up in 2021 and garnered $6.2 billion, marking a record as the Institute’s most extensive fundraising endeavor. By highlighting the Institute’s proactive approach to addressing the world’s most pressing issues — and focusing on its strengths in education, research, and innovation — the campaign drew participation from over 112,000 alumni and supporters globally, including nearly 56,000 new contributors.
“From the first time I encountered Julie Lucas, I recognized that she was the ideal candidate to act as MIT’s primary philanthropic leader of our capital campaign,” remarks MIT President Emeritus L. Rafael Reif. “Julie is both a ‘creator’ and a ‘doer,’ highly attuned to our ‘mens et manus’ motto. The Institute has greatly prospered from her exceptional abilities and her capacity to articulate a unified message that has inspired and driven alumni and supporters, foundations and businesses, to back MIT.”
Under Lucas’s leadership, MIT’s Office of Resource Development (RD) initiated new fundraising initiatives and procedures, and expanded the avenues for giving. For instance, RD established the Institute’s planned giving program, which assists donors wishing to create a lasting legacy at MIT through philanthropic means such as bequests, distributions from retirement plans, life-income gifts, and contributions of complex assets. She also played a key role in founding a donor-advised fund at MIT, which has amassed nearly $120 million in donations since its launch in 2017.
“Julie is an extraordinary fundraiser and leader — and in terms of Julie’s leadership within Resource Development, the results are evident,” states Mark Gorenberg ’76, chair of the MIT Corporation, who has been involved in numerous MIT committees and campaigns over the past twenty years. “These concrete fundraising achievements have facilitated innovations and discoveries, expanded educational programs and facilities, supported faculty and researchers, and ensured that an MIT education remains affordable and accessible for the brightest minds from across the globe.”
Before joining MIT, Lucas held senior fundraising positions at the University of Southern California and Fordham Law School, along with New York University and its business and law schools.
As Lucas prepares for the next stage in her career, she expresses gratitude for her time at the Institute.
“Philanthropy is a potent force for good in our world,” Lucas asserts. “My choice to step down was not an easy one. I feel privileged and appreciative that my work — and the efforts of the team of professionals I lead in Resource Development — have helped sustain the remarkable progression of MIT research and innovation that benefits us all by tackling humanity’s greatest challenges, both presently and in the future.”
Currently, Lucas is a member of the steering committee and the immediate past chair of CASE 50, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education group that includes the top 50 fundraising institutions worldwide. Additionally, she chairs the 2025 CASE Summit for Leaders in Advancement and is a founding member of Aspen Leadership Group’s Chief Development Officer Network.