Ryan L. Marsh Appointed Caltech's Associate VP for Development

Bringing more than two decades of fundraising experience to Caltech, most recently as assistant vice president of principal gifts and strategic initiatives for the University of Florida Foundation, Ryan L. Marsh will join the Institute as associate vice president for development effective December 14, 2023.

In this role, Marsh will oversee Caltech's annual giving, gift planning, foundation relations, principal gifts, and individual and regional giving programs. He will lead teams of accomplished fundraising professionals who are dedicated to securing private donations to advance the Institute's mission. He also will provide essential leadership toward successful completion of the $250 million Initiative for Caltech Students campaign.

"After a competitive search that included many well-qualified finalists from some of the country's top fundraising programs, we were fortunate to recruit Ryan," says Dexter A. Bailey, vice president for advancement and alumni relations. "A results-oriented, mission- and metrics-driven professional, he has a proven track record in closing large, complex gifts and in management. These skills, coupled with his passion for higher education, will strengthen our overall program and our ability to secure the essential resources our faculty, students, and staff need to pursue their ambitious research endeavors."

Marsh originally planned an academic career in international relations and conducted research at L'Institut Agronomique et Veterinaire Hassan II in Morocco. He began his career in higher education fundraising at his alma mater, Utah State University, followed by positions of increasing responsibility at Claire Trevor School for the Arts at the University of California, Irvine, and at the University of Utah. He was recruited to the University of Florida in late 2011. There, he was a member of the senior team that designed and implemented the $4.6 billion Go Greater campaign, which concluded on December 31, 2022. During the eight years of the campaign, he oversaw the university's largest and most diverse fundraising team and secured more than $167 million for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. More recently, as assistant vice president of principal gifts and strategic initiatives, he worked with some of the university's largest donors and supervised development teams in a variety of colleges, centers, and units.

"I have long admired Caltech, stemming in part from my development work with the late Caltech professor and Nobel laureate Bob Grubbs, who earned his undergraduate and master's degrees at the University of Florida," Marsh says. "The opportunity to join one of the world's most important institutions of higher education is compelling to me on a personal level. I am honored to join a high-performing team eager to raise philanthropic funds that enable our faculty and students to take risks and advance the frontiers of science and technological innovation."

Marsh holds a BA in political science and a certificate in international relations from Utah State University and completed two years of graduate study in international studies at the University of Miami. He is fluent in Spanish and French.