John B. Ford is vice chancellor emeritus of university development and alumni relations at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and vice president for development, emeritus at Stanford. Ford has 49 years of experience leading development programs, including 30 years at Stanford University, where he helped organize and successfully implement three campaigns with goals of more than $1 billion, including the first billion-dollar campaign in support of undergraduate education in the United States. He began his Stanford career at the medical center, eventually leading development for the School of Medicine and Stanford University Hospital. In addition, he directed the capital campaign to build Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Ford was appointed Stanford’s Vice President for development in 1988, one year into the public phase of Stanford’s $1.1 billion Centennial Campaign.  

Ford launched his development career at the California Institute of Technology and subsequently served as a major gift officer at the University of Chicago. In 2008, after retiring from Stanford, he helped launch the ClimateWorks Foundation in San Francisco. He also served as chair of the board of Marts & Lundy, a consulting firm to nonprofits based in New Jersey.