Elizabeth King, Ph.D., joined AGB Search in 2024 as an Executive Search Consultant bringing her valuable historical and business perspective spanning nearly 50 years of educational change. Dr. King, a retired university foundation CEO and mission-driven leader, guided six Wichita State University presidents and 16 board chairs in realizing their leadership priorities. Upon her retirement, she was one of the longest serving institutionally related foundation CEOs in the country. Now as a consultant, Dr. King applies her donor instincts, business intelligence, and integrity to guide executive leadership teams and boards on smart growth within the rapidly evolving higher education sector.
Experience and Honors
As CEO of the Wichita State University (WSU) Foundation for over 30 years, Dr. King led a team of 60 professionals to transform the organization and achieve unprecedented growth. With nearly $1B raised over her tenure, the Foundation’s assets grew from $54M to $400M. In 2006, Elizabeth spearheaded its transition into a separate entity, adding President to her title. In 2022, she led the integration of WSU’s Alumni Association.
Dr. King began her WSU tenure as Vice President for University Advancement, with responsibility for the Foundation as well as University Communications and Marketing, the Ulrich Museum of Art, and the Board of Trustees. She left a legacy at WSU of forging long-standing relationships with donors around the world, and instilled a culture of excellence, collaboration, service, and integrity. She built high-performing teams across matrixed organizations with exceptional retention rates while mentoring professionals around her.
As Governor-appointed Board Director of the University of Kansas Hospital, Dr. King applies strategic insights and succession planning expertise on the Audit, Quality, and Nominating Committees. She is also a member of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. She previously served five years on the Association of Governing Boards and its Foundations Advisory Board and has sat on multiple community not-for-profit boards.
Dr. King is 2024’s Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame Inductee and 2018’s Wichita Women in Business Hall of Fame Inductee. In 2020 she was named Executive of the Year by the Wichita Business Journal and in 2009 she was awarded the CASE Commonfund Institutionally-Related Foundation Award.
Education
