Laila Rashid

Laila M. Rashid began serving as Interim Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development in July 2022. In this role, she leads the University’s strategy, direction, and organization for development, alumni relations, and campaign planning. She works closely with President Alivisatos, the provost, deans, officers, and the Board of Trustees to advance UChicago’s mission through the intellectual, social, professional, and philanthropic engagement of the University community.

Rashid, who also is Vice President and Associate Dean for Medicine & Biological Sciences Development, joined the University of Chicago in 2004. She has held several successive leadership positions in Medicine & Biological Sciences Development, including director of principal gifts, senior director of campaign readiness, chief development officer for campaigns, and associate vice president. In 2018, she assumed the role of Senior Associate Vice President for Development for University Sciences. In this position, she helps to foster strong collaborations across medicine, the life sciences, engineering, and the physical sciences, with a particular emphasis on identifying transformational gift opportunities.

Rashid has participated in planning and executing two campaigns. The first, UChicago Medicine’s Spark Discovery, Illuminate Life Campaign, raised $810 million against a goal of $550 million. The second, the University of Chicago Campaign Inquiry and Impact, celebrated its completion in December 2019, raising $5.4 billion against a $5 billion goal. Laila led her team to raise nearly $1.2 billion as part of this effort.

Before joining the University of Chicago, Laila directed development for UCLA’s libraries from 2000 to 2004. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from San Diego State University.