Alan Mulally, Ford Motor Co.’s president and CEO, will return to Lawrence in September to raise funds for Lawrence public schools.

Mulally, a 1963 Lawrence High School graduate who earned two degrees from Kansas University, will be the keynote speaker for the Lawrence Schools Foundation’s 2010 Community Education Breakfast Sept. 3 at the Lawrence Holidome, the foundation announced Thursday.

Before joining Ford in 2006, Mulally was president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The breakfast is the foundation’s largest annual fundraiser. Mulally is the latest high-profile Lawrence schools graduate to headline the event.

The past three keynote speakers have been Mark Dominik, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager; Brian McClendon, a Google vice president; and Chuck Mead, frontman for the band BR549.

“We think that when they get a successful start here that it has an impact on your success throughout life,” said Susan Esau, the foundation’s executive director.

Esau said the foundation hopes to top last year’s record $51,000 that the breakfast raised. The foundation annually provides about $300,000 in support to the school district, including for early-childhood programs.