ProFusion IV Speaker Bio

Christopher M. Johnston                    
Assistant Vice Chancellor
Office of Campus Development and Leadership Initiatives
Shaping the Future $1B Campaign
University of California, Irvine
University Advancement

Christopher M. Johnston joined the University of California, Irvine in April 2000 and leads University Advancement's Office of Campus Development and Leadership Initiatives, including 10 divisions, schools and units and over 60 team members. He is also co-leading the university's $1 billion Shaping the Future campaign, serves as Secretary for the University of California, Irvine Foundation and as the Advancement Partner for the Foundation's Campaign Committee.

At UC Irvine, Mr. Johnston has also served in a variety of leadership positions including the Offices of Principal and Leadership Gifts; Gifts and Trusts Administration, and the School of Humanities' Office of Development, Alumni Relations and Special Events. He has 17 years of university and university advancement experience.

During Mr. Johnston's tenure at UC Irvine, the UC Irvine Foundation has enjoyed several record-breaking years resulting in more than $100 million in gift activity annually. He also directed two campaign initiatives to create UC Irvine's new School of Law and the Nursing Program in Science.

Mr. Johnston has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) recognizing distinguished service in the areas of principal and leadership gifts (2008 Circle of Excellence Awards Programs' Gold Medal Award and Regional Bronze Medal Award & 2007 International Bronze Medal Award); gift and trust administration customer service, and stewardship (2003 National and Regional Bronze Medal Awards). He is also the co-author of several articles in CASE publications on the subjects of gift and pledge agreements and stewardship, and received the 2008 Faculty Star award for his 2008 Campaign Strategies Conference presentation.

In addition to his work at the University of California, Irvine, Mr. Johnston has also served as the assistant vice president of alumni & constituent engagement and senior international officer at the University of Virginia; and in leadership positions at University of the Pacific, University of California, Riverside and the University of Southern California.

Mr. Johnston earned his juris doctorate degree from the University of Southern California where he served as a U.S. Department of Education National Resource Fellow for East Asian Studies. He also served as a fellow in the Leadership Institute's prestigious Presidential Fellows Program for outstanding graduate student leaders.  Mr. Johnston has received credentials as a Certified Specialist in Planned Giving (CSPG) from the American Institute of Philanthropic Studies; his undergraduate degree (magna cum laude) from Boston University; and earned two master of arts graduate degrees in Chinese and Japanese Studies from Waseda and Nanzan Universities (Japan) and the University of Southern California.