Barry D. Benson

The vice chancellor for institutional advancement is the senior advancement officer of the campus, responsible for overseeing all advancement operations and alumni relations. The vice chancellor has a split reporting role to the chancellor and to the president of the University of Illinois Foundation. Benson’s responsibilities include the planning, management, and coordination of all campus fundraising initiatives.

Benson is an experienced advancement professional having relocated to Urbana-Champaign from the University of Arizona, where he served for nearly a decade in escalating capacities culminating as a senior vice president for development responsible for successfully achieving a $1.5 billion campaign goal two years ahead of schedule and overseeing all marketing and communications, planned giving and regional development for the University of Arizona Foundation.

Benson also has extensive experience leading successful college based advancement programs in engineering and business. In addition to his higher education experience, Benson has also been an active civil servant having served on various nonprofit community boards including the Weld County Food Bank, Northern Colorado Junior Achievement, and the Children’s Museum of Tucson. A finance graduate and former collegiate baseball letterman from the University of Northern Colorado, Benson also holds a master's in business administration from Colorado State University. Benson is also a Certified Financial Planner who valued his previous experience in the financial services industry prior to embarking on a higher education career.