Thomas M. Becker

Tom Becker served as the 17th President of the Chautauqua Institution before retiring in January of 2017. He joined the Chautauqua Institution in 1985 as Vice President of Development. In this role, and later as Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation, he managed the growth of the Foundation into a professional fundraising organization. Through his tenure, he raised over $200,000,000 in support of the Institution and successfully guided a capital campaign to build, rebuild, and endow nearly all of the program facilities of the Institution. Mr. Becker received his bachelor’s degree from Xavier University and his Master of Public Administration from Indiana University. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Lifelong Learning Award from Teachers College Columbia University. Mr. Becker is President Emeritus of The Lincoln Institute for Land Policy in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and currently serves on the board there as well as the boards of The Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation of Jamestown, New York and The Claremont Lincoln University in Claremont, California.