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Murley succeeds Chairman Bill Lowry ’84 who has successfully led the Board for several years. Former Secretary Earl J. Barnes II ’86, P’24 was also appointed Vice Chair and Jessica Coleman ’89 Secretary during the May Board of Trustees meeting. 

As Board Chair, Murley is responsible for the governance of the College and will provide leadership to the group responsible for ensuring the College’s long-term financial health, endowment growth, and institutional strategy. 

Murley joined the Board as a Trustee in 2019. In that time, he has served on the Executive Committee, the Committee on Trustees, the Post-Graduate Outcomes Committee, and co-chaired the Advancement & External Relations Committee. He also served as co-chair of the recent Presidential Search Committee. 

“I look forward to doing my best to help Lake Forest College achieve its fullest potential.”

Murley and his wife, Mimi, who have resided in Lake Forest, Illinois since 1984, have a long-standing commitment to supporting both the College and the local community. Through their engagement with the College, they have hosted famed photographer Laura Wilson at the Durand Art Institute and have introduced and hosted a collection of musical salons featuring aspiring artists, including most recently Kieran Rhodes, who appeared on NBC’s America’s Got Talent.  

“It is an honor to be invited and a privilege to serve as Chair of the Board of Lake Forest College, one of the finest liberal arts and sciences colleges in the country,” Murley said. “The students who are fortunate to attend Lake Forest College receive an excellent education which prepares them to be successful in their chosen careers and to become fine citizens of our country or one of the many nations represented in our diverse student body from throughout the world. I look forward to doing my best to help Lake Forest College achieve its fullest potential."

Murley is an investment banker, corporate director, and philanthropist with more than five decades of experience in global finance. He is currently Vice Chairman of UBS. He had similar roles at The First Boston Corporation, which he joined in 1975, and at Credit Suisse First Boston, which was acquired by UBS in 2024. He advises major corporations on mergers, acquisitions, and capital raising.

‘Wealth of knowledge’

“Bob Murley brings a wealth of knowledge and deep commitment from his many years serving on the boards of storied American institutions of higher learning. I’m looking forward to partnering with Bob as we launch the next great era of Lake Forest College,” President Mike Sosulski said.

Murley serves on numerous corporate and civic boards. He currently serves as a Director of Brown Advisory in Baltimore and Harbour Group in St. Louis. He is a Trustee of the American Enterprise Institute, the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, the Lurie Children’s Foundation, the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry of Chicago, the Berklee College of Music, the London School of Economics, and the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where he served as Chair. He is also a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, and the Commercial Club of Chicago.

In addition to having served as a director of a number of public and private companies, Murley is a Charter Trustee Emeritus of Princeton University, the Princeton University Investment Company, and the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, New Jersey, where he served as Chair of the Board.

A California native, Murley received his BA from Princeton University, his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, and his MS from the London School of Economics.