
For Catherine Squires, ’80, it was Northern Now magazine that would lead her back to her alma mater where she would define the next, and most impactful, phase in her career in public service.
“I always looked forward to flipping through the pages of Northern Now,” she recalls. “It gave me a glimpse of University life back at my alma mater.” As a music major herself, Squires took particular note of updates from the NIU School of Music and recalls a special feature on legendary Jazz Ensemble director, Ron Modell, known as the father of NIU Jazz.
“All the stories I read surprised and delighted me,” she says. “But most importantly, they inspired me to reconnect with NIU. I could feel that it was the start of something amazing, and I was right.”
At the time, Squires was vice president of the Tufts Medical Center Trust, where she was the chief development executive for Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children, the principal teaching hospitals of Tufts University School of Medicine.
Flipping through the pages of Northern Now had kept NIU on Squires’ radar. Just two years later, the talented fundraising executive returned to NIU, not just for a visit, but to serve as vice president for Univer si ty Advancement and president and CEO of the NIU Foundation.
Squires describes the experience, “When the opportunity to serve NIU happened upon me, I had a 30-year skillset and a strong desire to give back to the institution that helped launch my career. That was a great professional collision for me!”
While Squires was thrilled to be back at NIU, the University was even happier to have her. NIU had prepared her for a successful career, and now she was a highly sought-after fundraiser.
Before Tufts, Squires had served as the chief advancement officer of the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago and spent six years as vice president of development for Oak Brook-based Advocate Charitable Foundation. There, she personally solicited major, planned and principal gifts as part of Advocate’s first-ever comprehensive campaign, which exceeded its goal of $125 million one year early with cumulative contributions of $132 million.
Prior to that, Squires served as director of development at the Youth Campus of Park Ridge, Illinois, for five years following 15 years of service with the Illinois Chamber Symphony in St. Charles, Illinois, where she was a founding member of the board of directors, personnel and operations manager and later, executive director.
Since returning to NIU, Squires has overseen all fundraising and alumni relations activities on behalf of the University, and with great success. In FY22, the NIU Foundation raised more than $23.3 million to benefit NIU students. To date, the Foundation has raised $130 million under Squires’ leadership.
“I’m very fortunate to be able to spend this segment of my career leading the advancement effort at such a critical time in NIU history,” says Squires. “We have the largest campaign in University history on our doorstep, and to be here at this moment, to lead it forward is both humbling and awesome.”
Squires loves what she does.
She explains that one thing she has always appreciated about the fundraising profession is the abiding sense of working on behalf of others to make great things happen. She adds, “And ultimately, when you’ve learned a few things, it feels great to pass your knowledge on to those who come after you.”
Squires recognizes the profound difference NIU donors make. “NIU is a place where you can make a game-changing impact—on the students we serve, but also on the trajectory of the institution itself,” she says.
“Being in what oftentimes are sacred conversations with donors about the things that are most important to them from a values perspective and guiding them on that path to giving is a gift to all of us who have chosen this line of work.”
The CEO describes the NIU Foundation Board of Directors as a guiding light along the way.
“A major part of what makes this role so special is working closely with our volunteer board members whose passion and service are a beacon to the entire Huskie community,” she says. “As CEO, I am most fortunate to have the benefit of their leadership, guidance, and wise counsel. It is a rarity to have such a true partnership between executive and board.”
That close partnership spans the Division of University Advancement and extends throughout campus.
“I have never worked with a greater group of colleagues than those we have here at NIU,” Squires says. “We have an amazing culture that starts at the absolute top with a great leader in President Lisa Freeman and a unified, even palpable, sense of mission.”
“Each and every day, I rise with a heart full of optimism and a sense that whatever I do that day, even if it feels somewhat routine or administrative, I will truly make a difference.”
She adds, “I am heavily invested in being able to work alongside colleagues I not only respect, but also love as human beings. That’s what we have here, and I’ve never experienced it in quite this way.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.