James L. Lanier, Jr.

Jim Lanier joined AGB as Senior Fellow for Board Education and Consulting in 2005 to create the AGB Consulting Group to serve Association member’s needs for longer term governance issues.  Later he led the team that revised and updated AGB’s successful programs of facilitated on-campus workshops to better fit the changing governance environment. His personal consulting has covered governance, board and CEO assessment, planning and transitions, as well as the president and board’s role in fund-raising. In the last five years, Mr. Lanier has completed over thirty five successful engagements with boards around the country. Clients ranged from governing and foundation boards at major research institutions and state systems to small privates and community colleges.  

Prior to joining AGB, he served for 23 years as Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement, and President and CEO of the East Carolina University Foundation and the ECU Real Estate Foundation. While at ECU he expanded fund-raising capacity, planned and oversaw several successful campaigns, and strengthened volunteer leadership. His foundation boards became highly effective stalwarts enabling and advocating for the university. During his campus tenure, he also served as a governance consultant for AGB and was a frequent presenter at regional and national meetings for AGB and CASE (The Council for Advancement and Support of Education). In 2004 -2005, Mr. Lanier chaired a joint Taskforce for AGB and CASE to develop the National Illustrative Model Memorandum of Understanding between Universities and Foundations. It has become a national standard.

Before East Carolina, Mr. Lanier spent 12 years at Louisburg College, a 225 year old United Methodist school near Raleigh. There he held several roles, including admissions and seven years as the school’s Chief Development Officer. He worked closely with the president and trustees to lead the College’s first ever successful major capital campaign.

Mr. Lanier has a number of publications, most recently an article in November/December, 2008 issue of Trusteeship magazine entitled “What Lies Ahead for University-Foundation Relations.”  He has served on many for-profit and non-profit boards, such as the Greenville Industries, Council for the Support and Advancement of Education, Eastern NC Chamber of Commerce, Harold H. Bate Foundation, Greater Greenville Community Foundation, and the LeRoy T. Walker Olympic Assessment Center. He has been invited to speak at national meetings hosted by AGB, CASE, NACUBO, IMN and the Association of American Schools of Central and South America.  He earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in education from ECU, and has completed a number of postgraduate programs including the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard.

jll@agbsearch.com