Clyde Watkins began his development career in 1972 at The University of Chicago achieving the rank of associate vice president for academic resources and institutional planning in 1979. He later joined Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he helped establish the Northwestern Memorial Foundation. He was appointed a board member of the Foundation and served as its first president. Clyde joined Illinois Institute of Technology in 1986 as vice president with responsibility for development, alumni affairs, public relations, community affairs, and government relations. In 1994, Clyde established his own consulting firm, Clyde P. Watkins and Associates, which merged in 2003 to create Ter Molen Watkins & Brandt, LLC (now TWB Fundraising).
Working with a broad range of institutions, his particular strengths are in the areas of strategic planning, campaign planning and oversight, and major gift strategy development. Some of his larger campaigns have included Loyola University Chicago, Saint Louis Art Museum, and The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, but he also has served numerous small organizations with equal commitment to their growth and self-sufficiency.
Clyde has served in a variety of volunteer capacities with organizations such as the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and as an adjunct faculty member for the University of Chicago’s Managing Institutional Advancement program offered at its Graham School of General Studies. In 1989, he was awarded the AFP Chicago Chapter’s Benjamin Franklin Award—the organization’s highest honor for nonprofit professionals—and the Annual Giving Roundtable’s Fund Raiser of the Year in 1997. Recognized as an experienced mentor, he is the founder of the Development Leadership Consortium, which has helped hundreds of young advancement professionals build their skills and sophistication while establishing larger and stronger professional networks.
An alumnus of the University of Chicago, Clyde also holds a master’s degree in education from Ball State University.
Clyde and his wife, Cheryl, live in Oak Park, Illinois.
