Diane James's professional experiences span 30 years within the public and private education arenas. Prior to joining UCR, she served as the Vice President of University Advancement of Western University of Health Sciences overseeing external private support for the colleges of medicine, pharmacy, nursing, physician assistants, physical therapy and veterinary medicine. In her role she supervised communications, events, major gifts, foundation/corporate relations, annual giving, alumni relations, planned giving and advancement services.
Other higher education experiences include Associate Vice President of University Advancement at Chapman University, Director of Advancement for Claremont University Consortium (the seven Claremont Colleges) and Director of Foundation/Corporate Relations at Harvey Mudd College and Cal Poly Pomona.
Prior to higher education, she consulted with K-12 school districts in California, Oregon, Alaska and Colorado, launching offices of development and education foundations. During her earliest career years, she supervised state/federal agency funding (grants and contracts) in K-12 education and was a licensed speech pathologist.
Raised in Long Beach, California, James's education includes undergraduate majors in communications and speech pathology and a graduate degree in organizational management. She holds certifications/credentials in educational administration, nonprofit management, planned giving and public relations along with professional licensing conferred through the national Association of Fund Raising Professionals.