Jen Lawrence

Phone:

(317) 278-5648

Email:

jennlawr@iu.edu

Website:

https://research.iu.edu

Department:

Office for Research Development, IU Research Leader

Biography

Jen Lawrence, M.F.A.

Assistant Vice President for Research Development Services
IU Research, Indiana University

Jen Lawrence serves as Assistant Vice President for Research Development Services (RDS) at Indiana University, where she leads a university‑wide portfolio that integrates Corporate & Foundation Relations (CFR), Proposal Development Services (PDS), and Pre‑Award Services to help faculty plan, prepare, and submit competitive proposals across all IU campuses. RDS provides centralized, end‑to‑end support—from idea development and team formation through strategic proposal planning, budget and narrative assistance, and administrative review and routing to the Office for Research Administration (ORA) for final submission—ensuring a structured, supportive experience for investigators seeking external funding. These services are available to all IU campuses.

As AVP, Lawrence sets strategy for the three integrated units and stewards top‑tier institutional relationships with private funders through CFR in collaboration with university leadership, including the IU President’s Office. In her CFR leadership prior to the AVP role, she scaled IU’s foundation portfolio and operations: the three‑year average of private‑foundation funding rose 55% (from $35.3M in 2015 to $54.7M in 2024); annual proposals increased more than 300% (33 to 145); and team‑raised dollars grew 500% (from $2M to $12M) while shifting engagement from predominantly local to a national portfolio.

Before joining IU Research leadership, Lawrence directed foundation relations at Rose‑Hulman Institute of Technology, where she built new partnerships and more than doubled prior levels of private‑foundation giving. Earlier at Northwestern University, she led foundation fundraising for engineering and journalism and served as Director of Marketing & Communications, managing an eight‑person creative team and producing principal‑ and major‑gift proposals and executive white papers.

Lawrence also brings private‑sector experience, having worked as a strategist and consultant in the brand and advertising sector where she led multidisciplinary teams and large‑scale identity and web initiatives for clients including McDonald’s, IBM, Caterpillar, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Harley‑Davidson, Bosch Power Tools, Target, FTD.com, and UMB Financial Corporation. Early in her career she worked in media planning at Leo Burnett and taught university‑required speaking and writing courses as a graduate assistant at the University of Iowa and Miami of Ohio.

Active nationally in advancement, Lawrence has for the last ten years volunteered and consulted with the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) to plan its annual CFR Conference, the flagship gathering for CFR professionals in higher education.

She holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Northwestern University; is ABD toward the Ph.D. in Communication Studies (Technology Studies) at the University of Iowa; and earned an M.A. and B.S. in Speech/Mass Communication from Miami University (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa; creative writing minor).