Michael Larkin

Chief of Staff

Office of the President

Michael Larkin is the Chief of Staff to President Thomas M. Evans, PhD at the University of the Incarnate Word. As Chief of Staff, Larkin oversees operations for the Office of the President, including coordination with the Board of Trustees.

In 2024, he re-joined UIW, where he previously held key leadership roles from 2017-2021. He first arrived at UIW in 2017 to serve as Chief of Staff and Special Assistant to the President for Planning and Development. He would later also serve as Chief Development Officer and Vice President for External Affairs overseeing Strategic Planning, Campus Master Planning, and External Affairs, including Development and University Relations, Communications and Marketing, and UIW’s Division 1 Athletic Program.

He brings to UIW extensive experience in university leadership, external affairs and other areas at Catholic universities across the country. Of his 32 years in higher education, he dedicated significant number to fundraising and gift divisions. To date, colleges and universities under his direct supervision have raised more than $450 million in Comprehensive Campaigns that have exceeded more than $780 million. He has worked directly with five donors designing the strategies for eight transformational gifts of $10 million or more. He has also personally designed, and been part of executing, leadership gifts of more than $1 million from 40 different donors.

Larkin’s served as vice president for University Advancement at St. Edward’s University in Austin (2003-2015). During his tenure at St. Edward’s, the University completed two successful campaigns totaling more than $170 million, received four CASE Awards – two for overall improvement in fundraising and two for distinctive Stewardship practices – and secured the three largest gifts in its history ($20 million, $13 million, and $12.5 million).

His educational fundraising also includes service at institutions such as his alma mater, Loyola School in New York City; Fordham University in New York City (Director of Major and Planned Gifts  and Associate Vice President for Development); Saint Peter’s College in Jersey City, New Jersey (Vice President for Advancement), Carroll College in Helena, Montana (Vice President for Advancement), Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, New York (Vice President for University Advancement), and the Foundation of UMDNJ (Senior Vice President for Development).

He has presented numerous times at the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) as well as numerous Catholic schools. He has also hired and mentored 10 individuals who have become Vice Presidents for Development (including the current VPs at Villanova and Marquette universities). Larkin holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Haverford College and an M.S. in Education from Fordham University.